Dawn
by Lil'Conqueror
Summary: Bella Swan is not that weak, little human she'd grown to hate, anymore. She was stronger now, wiser. And she'd be damned if she ever let another man treat her as if she were nothing.
1. Chapter 1

**A\N:** Hello again. This idea actually came about when I stumbled upon some YouTube videos with this pairing and I don't know, I think I fell in love and I wanted to make this real and ugh, I'm just a mess. I'm going through a lot at the moment, here at home, and I just needed to get some writing done that I didn't feel like shit afterwards for writing. Ya know? It's weird, I'm weird, but whatever. Haha. I had more trouble finding a decent title for this fic than I actually did writing it. For some reason, writing Bella in this light was a lot easier than I thought it would be, considering she's so awkward in the movies and shtuff... Anyways, enjoy, I guess? :)

 **Summary:** (Takes place sometime after Edward and his family leave in New Moon)

She knew she deserved better. Without anyone having to remind her, she knew. But it didn't stop the fact that Edward was her first love and he held something over her that she just couldn't shake. But Damon? Damon was different, from the moment she met him, she knew. And whatever she had with Edward couldn't have even held a candle to what her and Damon shared; honesty, loyalty, something Edward never had the audacity to give her.

 **Also.** Bella had been turned into a vampire in the first movie, after the whole James shindig.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own either party. x

 **Chapter one.**

* * *

She saw him before he even approached her. Of course she'd been watching, she was always mindful of her surroundings, just like he had taught her. She had anticipated his arrival at least fifty-three minutes ago, but she surmised he needed more alcohol in his system before he braved the cold front she was ready to give.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as he tried to saunter over to her. _Tried_ being used loosely. It was more like a false skip in his step which was merely a cover up for the fact that he was ready to teeter off the edge of alcoholism any second now.

One minute and twenty-three seconds. That was how long it took after he polished off his shot of what she assumed was tequila and made his way over to her. It was then another thirty-five seconds before he was able to control his labored breathing, as he was not in fair shape and was struggling to stand on his feet from the short distance he walked from his table to the bar where she was situated on the stool at, hidden only minimally in the corner.

Frankly, she was surprised he even could see her from that distance in his drunken haze. She was positive she hadn't brought any unnecessary attention to herself, merely sitting with her back to the wall, eyes scanning the crowd and sipping on her mixed rum.

She waited, another minute passing by agonizingly slow, as he stood before her, not nearly as tall as he thought he was. She blinked, once, twice, maybe a third time before he even said anything to her. And that's when his hot, alcohol-induced, breath fanned her face. Immediately, her shoulders tensed, her fingers wrapped around her glass visibly whitened to show her grip.

 _"If only you knew what vile things they were thinking about,"_

Oh, she could give an accurate assumption.

 _"The revulsion that washed over me when I smelt their breath, Bella, you don't even know,"_

Oh, she knew alright.

Well, that's what it meant when your senses were unbelievably heightened. What did he expect honestly?

Finally, a single movement in front of her reminded her of where she was and who was standing before her, causing Bella to reel in her utter disgust, not only for the man practically sweating into her personal bubble, but for the unnecessary flashbacks that would late plague her mind if she didn't act quick. Before he could say anything, however, she quickly finished off her drink and held up her hand, stopping him from saying anything he would later regret.

"Whatever it is you're selling, don't." Oh, she knew what he was selling. Or, trying to at least. "Not interested."

The man, that could easily pass for an under-waged office employee that clearly hadn't been on the playing field in some time, looked taken aback. He began to stammer a response, but before he could try and remedy the dying situation, she stood up and removed some cash out of her back pocket, throwing it on the counter to pay for her drink.

She had hoped to all hell that she had been wrong when she saw him stealing glances at her from across the bar. She didn't need the attention of some middle-aged spaz who seemed to be after one thing tonight. From her far right, she could see a few other men about the same age, snickering amoungst themselves. It was obvious they were his friends or, at the very least, his co-workers, and probably put him up to the challenge of trying to make an obvious pass at her.

Bella sighed and turned away, throwing a single hand in the air towards the barkeep who she had come to call as an acquaintance as she could often be found hanging around his bar nearly every night.

"Jonathon," She called over her shoulder without looking back.

"Bells," He replied, cleaning off a glass she could hear perfectly from her distance. "See you tomorrow?" It was less of a question and more of a statement.

"Haven't decided." Came her response, but they both knew she would be. It was always like that.

Feeling completely ignored, the old man that approached her, quickly slunk back to his buddies who were howling with laughter at his obvious defeat. Bella ignored them, however, and pulled her coat off the hook next to the door, wrapping it tightly around her body as she left the bar.

Despite the distance she had gained from the bar as she walked home, the warning bells inside her head were spiraling out of control. She could practically taste the sweat still rolling off their tongues as the stalked her, trying and failing miserably, to catch her off guard.

"Why is it always like this?" She asked herself, her voice too low for them to hear as she kept her pace, waiting out the inevitable.

Because it always was. Isabella Swan was never attractive, she never considered herself to be what guys wanted in a woman. Her skin was far too pale, unlike all of her other friends who sported deep tans on the daily. Her teeth weren't as straight or white and perfectly sculpted like the models in the magazines. Her hips were too bone-y and her hair always looked unkempt, even though she always brushed it out. And her face? God, that might've been the worst yet. She couldn't even think of words to describe her overall appearance, however-

Bella barely turned her head, she didn't really have to. Her stalkers were far too obvious to not have gone unnoticed. Their steps were loud, almost stomping. Their ragged breaths were short and quick, as if they had just got done running a marathon and were on their last leg of strength.

And the alcohol? She probably would have vomited if she were any less of the woman she was today. Lots of training on that part, though.

They were snickering again, but this time, she could hear the reluctance in one of the men as he spoke quietly to his friends.

"Come on, guys, she said she wasn't interested, let's just drop it."

Making sure to keep her emotions under wraps, Bella continued to walk forward in silence, the only evidence she felt any sort of way were the fact that her hands, deep in her coat pockets, were balled in fists.

"Nah, nah, she don't get to just dismiss you like that!" One of the others spoke, his voice husky and dry.

This time, Bella began to count their breaths and even steps they stole to gain stride with her. This method she had learned on her own. It didn't help as much as the alcohol did, but she was able to gain some solace in the numbers she counted by. It would help her from ripping out their jugular on the spot.

As they began to devise their plan of action, Bella's pace began to slow to a leisure stroll and that's when they acted. Completely caught up with her defense, Bella was unable to see the fourth figure's fast approach until it was already too late.

For them, of course.

She only blinked once, she recalled, as the three men were visibly thrown off their feet and knocked to the ground, screaming all the while. Knowing she should have done something had not registered in her mind in that moment. Her head was filled with their blood-curdling screams and she watched through half-lidded orbs as they fell, one by one, covered in their own blood, to the ground.

Normally, she would have been more defensive, anxious even, but she was unable to find a single fuck to give when the fourth stalker rose to his feet and she was met with a familiar set of blue eyes and dark, shaken hair.

She did not wait for him to address her and instead, turned her body to completely face him. "I remember you. You were at the bar."

The man chuckled dryly, wiping his chin to erase the mess of blood from his meal.

"You saw me."

Of course she saw him. She saw everyone who came in and out of that bar, likewise, her life, too. She never forgot, even if she sometimes wished she could.

He was a fairly attractive man, very pleasing on the eye. Ice blue orbs for eyes and a mess of black hair that clashed perfectly with his slight pale skin. He doned a leather jacket over a midnight blue t-shirt and dark jeans. He had appeared in contrast to the bar they had been previously situated in and maybe that's why he stuck out at her so vividly, because she didn't belong there either.

While everything should have screamed at her to defend herself against this monster before her, the larger part, the one equally as sadistic as this man, remained aloof and merely stared back at him indifferently. The sight of blood that use to cause her unease, now only further fueled her hunger for the unknown.

"I can't hear your heartbeat," He commented, eyes matching hers.

Was that why he followed her?

She blinked once. "Strange, because I can hear yours." And that only slightly unsettled her.

The smirk he sent to her immediately afterwards might have been breathtaking, but right now she was just ready to sleep off the nights festivities and call it a day. It was slightly off-kilter and could have raised questions, but alas, she didn't care.

"I heard the bartender call you Bells," He gestured to her person, being mindful not to cause her any sort of distress because he didn't know her. Not yet, anyways. "Is that your name?"

After his question, it then dawned on Bella that she had not really conversed with a man this much in quite a long time. True, it wasn't much of a conversation and when Bella couldn't hear the heartbeats of his victims, she surmised this wasn't much of a first impression sort of thing either.

Cocking her head to the side thoughtfully, she asked, "Was there something you wanted to confirm, vampire?"

He was one, wasn't he? It was brief and the moonlight was no help in giving her a better view, but she guessed his fangs are what pierced those men, blood and puncture wounds from their neck was proof of that. If Bella had been in a mood before, she was practically unstable now. But, with lots of practice and precision, she was able to remain calm and collected despite the inner turmoil she was facing with this strange man.

"Is that going to be our thing now?"

She raised a quizzical brow in earnest.

"We're going to answer each other's question with another?"

She didn't need this right now. Perhaps at one point, under different circumstances, she would've been better equipped at being more defensive and on guard, but right now, she could practically feel her bed calling her name. She didn't care who this man was and how different his kind was to hers at this point in time and merely sighed, turning away from him.

"Take care of the bodies," She spoke, her voice the briefest amount of sternness and authoritative as she waved him off. "Or don't, I couldn't care less."

And she couldn't. Well, she didn't want to anyways. She had spent the majority of her life, worrying after things she couldn't control, but that all stopped the moment she died. If nobody else cared, why would she?

She had an inkling this wasn't going to be the last time she saw this man and while a part of her dreaded the next time, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't secretly anticipating his next appearance.

* * *

The next time they crossed paths, she had been in her favorite coffee shop, sipping from her preferred choice of herbal tea and reading a book. She wasn't particularly interested in the read, rather she was just giving her mind something to focus on. While the counting indeed helped, sometimes it took a little bit of an extra push in the right direction to further distract her.

There were a total of eleven people in the coffee shop; she, of course, was situated in the far corner, mindful of every single person in the room with her. Their voices were blurred together, hushed whispers but if she tried, she could listen in on any of their conversations with ease. However, that wasn't the point of her routine. Observation only, nothing more unless provoked. It usually never came down to that.

 _Usually_.

She had spotted him before he even turned back around to walk into the cafe. Noticed the way his blue eyes found hers through the mess of people between them before sending that same smirk he shared with her only a week ago. Choosing to ignore him altogether, Bella gingerly sipped her tea and pull her book back up to cover part of her face.

Only five and a half minutes went by before the chair across from her was pulled back and cologne filled her senses.

" _Isabella Swan_ ," He drawled, waiting for a reaction as he brought his cup of espresso to his lips.

He didn't have to wait long. At the mention of her full name, Bella slowly lowered her book so she could lock eyes with the still smirking vampire, his blue eyes practically dancing in her face.

"You spoke to Jonathon?" She guessed, raising her brow pointedly.

"It didn't take a lot of convincing on my part," He bragged, his wicked grin transparent as all hell, causing her to frown.

She had secretly hoped he hadn't went out of his way to torture the bartender on her behalf. She rather liked the guy as well as her nightly visits to his bar. She said nothing, however, and merely averted her gaze back to her book without further explanation.

"I'm curious about you," He said again after a moment of silence.

"Oh?"

"You're different."

At this, she snorted. "I've been called worse."

The still unnamed man smirk in amusement, leaning forward slightly.

"You don't have a heartbeat, but you're clearly breathing."

"I don't have to," She offered, only slightly detached as she turned a page in her book.

To prove her point, she stopped breathing altogether. She didn't have to look at the clock to tell how much time had gone by when her guest leaned even further to try and gauge a reaction out of her, to catch her bluff; but when her eyes remained impassive and her face didn't turn blue from lack of oxygen, he smiled and leaned back in his chair, whistling softly. She figured he wasn't all that surprised as he appeared.

"Just _what_ are you?" It had sounded less like a question and more like a _tell-me-now-or-so-help-me-god_ sort of thing.

Pulling her book away from her face and taking another sip of her tea, Bella slowly began to take breaths again, leveling him with a look.

"The same as you," She began before backtracking as another thought dawned on her. "Or perhaps not, seeing as your heartbeat is _a little_ too excited at the moment."

And it was. His heart rate had sped up quite a bit since he sat down and engaged in conversation with her, most likely showing his excitement even though his eyes did the majority of the talking.

"I said I was curious, didn't I?" He shot back, taking another sip of his espresso as well, his blue eyes flashing. "Damon Salvatore."

She flipped the page in her book. "I didn't ask."

His signature smirk was smug as he replied, "Think of it as an offering, then."

It was a long while before either of them said anything after that. Bella had felt compelled to get up and leave a handful of times during that long period of irritating silence, but remained seated and waiting for Damon to make another move.

 _"Do not be the first to engage. Always wait for your opponent to make the first move."_

Luckily for her, her cell phone went off in her bag hanging from the back of her chair. Breathing a sigh of almost relief, Bella closed her book and fished out her phone, only to narrow her eyes at the name that flashed across the screen.

"Boyfriend?" Damon teased, leaning slightly across the table as if to get a better view.

Bella frowned and turned in her chair, avoiding his ever watchful gaze as she hit the ignore button and got up. Shoving her book into her bag, she leveled Damon with one last look before turning around to leave.

"Don't follow me." Was the last thing she said before she left the cafe.

And he didn't.

* * *

 _Lung cancer._

She had told him, hadn't she? That one day smoking wasn't going to lead him anywhere in life except on death's door.

It had been Jacob who had called her, which was surprising in itself, considering he was still upset with her leaving Washington. However, the way he spoke to her over the phone when she called him back was almost like a slap to the face. His voice was soft, somewhat, as if he had forgiven her for all of her sins and only wanted what was best for her right here and now.

But nothing was ever that easy. And this call surely wasn't.

 _"It's Charlie, Bells."_ He said, his voice being carried through the phone as if on some invisible cloud. _"He's in the hospital."_

As if that wasn't already bad enough, he had the audacity to ask her to _come home_.

 _"Don't do it for me... But he needs you."_

Did he not think she knew that already? Did he honestly believe she would have left him on his own if that were the case? If nothing else, Charlie and her had an understanding of sorts. That's why they got along better than she ever did with her mother. Because they were the same person. They felt and handled situations similarly. And for Jacob to accuse her of running away from her father for selfish reasons only fueled the pent up aggression she had tried her best to keep under wraps.

Even if he didn't come outright and say it.

Bella pinched the bridge of her nose, trying and failing to keep from heaving another distorted sigh.

"Bella?" Came a voice from behind her at her bedroom door.

Without having to turn around, she knew who it was.

"I won't be staying long," She started, focusing back on her suitcase. "A couple weeks, maybe. Just long enough to make sure Charlie's situated."

The old man, who had not only come to be like a parent figure himself, was also her teacher whom she had stumbled upon what felt like ages ago. He was a very old witch, that had sustained somewhat of his life with different types of foreign herbs. He had found her when she had been on a vampiric rampage after she had been turned. Before, of course, _they_ had left her.

He ended up finding her again after she was left alone and to her own devices and offered to take her in, to help her control her urges and he was actually a huge part of her control habit she had with counting numbers and occasionally, her drinking issue.

When he didn't say anything, she looked over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't talking to herself. Just what she needed, another excuse to teeter on the edge of insanity. However, Robert did not move and she made no effort to oblige his silence.

Robert Harrison, whom she normally referred to as Harrison as it made him seem a lot more teacher-like and sophisticated than his first name only. He was slightly hunched over, from his deteriorating spinal column and with a mess of silver-y hair that complimented his ghastly white skin.

Being under a witches care could have said a lot about the type of person Robert was, however, she wasn't sure how much he was actually aware of her presence in his home. Mostly because, Robert was blind.

Finally, Robert parted his dry lips and spoke, his voice low and husky, as if he hadn't had a decent glass of water in the Sahara Desert and said, "If it begins to be too much for you, Isabella, I want you to leave. Right away."

At this, Bella let out a breath of air she hadn't realized she'd been holding. While the sentiment was endearing, she knew better than to take it for what it was.

"I won't lose control. You've taught me that much."

And he had. That and even more. Through the chaos she'd been thrown in since James had turned her, Robert had been the one constant thing in her life that kept her grounded and aware. She owed him her life, yet he never asked for a single type of repayment.

He really was like a grandfather of sorts.

Smiling softly to herself, one that she only ever had for Robert himself, though he wouldn't ever be able to see it, she walked up to him. Having lost his sight, Robert made up for it in other ways. Sometimes, he was far more in tune with his surroundings than she was. Leaning down slightly, she placed a gentle kiss to his forehead.

"Take it easy while I'm gone, would you?" She doted. "I'd rather not come back home with the kitchen smelling like dead carcass like last time."

His witch-y voodoo experiments always did get out of hand whenever she wasn't around. Robert tried not to smile at the memory.

"I'll have you know that it wasn't all that awful, young lady."

Bella snorted. "Yeah, _after_ I febreezed the entire place."

This time, he did laugh, causing Bella to smile fondly at the sight.

"Just, take it easy, okay?"

"Sometimes I do wonder just who the elder is here."

Yeah, he'd be fine.


	2. Chapter 2

**A\N:** I'm not too sure how long I intend to make this story. While I'm writing it, it doesn't appear like it'll last more than ten chapters, _at the very least_. However, there are many different ideas that came to mind and ways that I can make this last a lot longer than I wish it to. I guess we'll see. :)

 **JynxxD:** Things are very different in this story. It's been a _long_ time since I've read the books or seen the movie, so some things might seem OOC or wrong. (I apologize ahead of time if I mess up on anything important) But Bella can drink and eat whatever. Of course, they don't taste appealing but as we continue on, Bella will show that she wants to be able to experience the old pleasures of her life as she once did. Thanks for your review! :)

 **Beuty6:** The thought did cross my mind. :o

 **XKristinrenee:** Like I told a previous reviewer, it's been awhile since I've seen Twilight and some things might seem out of wack. But, Bella is able to drink, eat, and (sort of) sleep in this story. I only say sort of because she's able to put her mind in a certain place that relaxes her body enough to appear as if she's sleeping, but isn't. It'll make more sense as we continue. :)

 **Thank you all for your reviews, favs, and follows! They mean the world to me!**

 **Chapter two.**

* * *

What should have been a couple weeks in Washington, had slowly turned into several.

After landing in the gloomy state of Washington from Georgia, Bella's mood had instantly deflated. Whilst she was cursed with pale skin for the rest of her existence, she'd be lying if she said she didn't miss how the sun felt against her skin. It felt even better knowing she didn't have to worry about sparkling, either. Robert had taken care of that disaster when he found out her situation.

 _"It's a simple trick of a few prayers cast over a Lapis Lazuli stone. Works the same as a daylight ring."_ He had said when he handed her a small ring with a blue stone in the middle.

 _"Daylight ring?"_

As if realizing a mistake, he backtracked and laughed it off. _"Just an old legend. Think nothing of it, my dear."_

And she didn't. Mostly because, as long as the ring prevented her from turning into a large diamond in the sun, she didn't care about any other origin of the ring.

Looking down at the slightly gaudy ring on her middle finger of her left hand, Bella sighed. Oh, how it would have been a little easier if Robert had accompanied her back to Forks. While she didn't need a bodyguard for what she _could_ do to others, it didn't mean that she was ready to be left alone with her own thoughts back in the last place she had hoped to never find herself back in.

Home.

Only when the hospital had come into view, did Bella truly feel like she was that same little bird in that small cage she had so desperately tried to get out of, once upon a time.

 _'Breathe, Bella.'_ She reminded herself as she got out of her rent-a-car with two cups of coffee, one black with no sugar and the other hazelnut with ample amount of sugar. Without any excuse she could think of to get out of the emotional reunion she foresaw coming, she headed into the hospital. First, she stopped at the reception's desk for information.

"Hi," She said, albeit awkwardly as the nurse behind the desk peered up at her from beneath her too-full eyelashes. "I'm looking for Charlie Swan's room."

The woman stared hard at her for what seemed like a full minute, which probably was as Bella tightened her fingers around the cups of coffee for a split second before the nurse smiled demurely.

"I thought I recognized you somewhere!" She half-shouted, causing Bella to take a single step back. "You're Charles' daughter, right?"

Bella tried not to flinch back. _'Charlie...'_ She corrected inwardly, but nodded nonetheless.

"Yes, yes! I knew it! I mean, you've grown quite a bit but," She paused, looking her over after she stood up from her chair behind the reception desk.

The nurse, who she couldn't place for the life of her, was probably talking about how much she's _changed_ since she last seen her. If, of course, she had. Bella wasn't sure, honestly. Being a vampire now meant that her entire appearance had gone through a drastic change from what she could only describe as pre-puberty. All of Bella's imperfections had done a complete 360 and were now the opposite of everything she had mentioned was wrong with her before. And she could tell, the nurse thought so as well.

Fighting the sigh threatening to escape past her lips, Bella offered her a shy smile and gestured with the cups of coffee in her hands, making it seem like she was only a little bit in a hurry and that they were extremely scalding, when in actuality, they only felt slightly warm to the touch.

The unnamed nurse, Bella didn't care to look down at her name tag pinned to her shirt, hurriedly motioned towards the elevators.

"If they haven't moved him, Charles' should be on the third floor, room 302." Muttering more about how she went to see him earlier that day, which Bella didn't care to comment on.

Nor the fact that the nurse hadn't even bothered to check the computer to make sure her information was correct, but at this point, Bella just wanted to leave altogether. She'd find the room regardless.

And find the room she did, as the sudden stench of _dog_ overwhelmed her, nearly causing her to drop the coffees right there in the hallway. While there was no sign of Jacob or his family, Bella was aware that they had been here before she had. The whole third floor reeked of werewolf, but she forced herself to remain impassive as she found Charlie's room.

"Ya know," She called out as soon as she seen her father, the door to his room open and inviting as she stepped over the threshold. "I'd hate to tell you I told you so, _but-_ "

Charlie Swan had never really been a neat freak beforehand, but now he just looked like a complete mess sitting there in a hospital bed, in a hospital gown, with the hospital mask on his face, giving off hospital oxygen. However, as soon as his eyes fell on her, Charlie had nearly wrestled with the mask to remove it and probably would have jumped out of the bed, had she not glared at him to keep him still.

"Bells," He breathed, his tone as dry and out of sorts as she assumed it would be.

He sounded like he hadn't had a drop of water since being admitted to the hospital and she could only surmise the coffee wasn't going to help either as he gestured towards the cup in her left hand.

"I don't think you'll like this one," She joked, shaking her head as she offered him the one in her right hand. The hazelnut coffee with ample amount of sugar.

Charlie made a face as he accepted his cup. "You still drink that garbage?"

Bella laughed, the sound just as surprising for her to hear as it was for Charlie.

"Black coffee is the _only_ way to drink it." She chided, opening the lid and taking a generous sip.

"Yeah, yeah. Preach it to someone who cares." He shot back, eyeing her cup in such disgust as he downed nearly half of his own cup.

This was it. The simplicity of conversation that she had grown to miss about Charlie. Nothing was ever taken out of context and the sarcasm was endless. Had she wanted to try the same with her mother, she probably would've taken some of it the wrong with. Charlie was easier to converse with that way. Maybe that's why she preferred his presence, if it were necessary, than her mother or Phil.

"How are you feeling?"

While it was a common question Charlie should have expected, she could tell it wasn't the one he wanted to answer. His face, which was normally full, now appeared slightly sunken in around his eyes. His skin nearly matching hers in paleness. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought he was in transition to her kind. That thought was quickly dismissed, however, with a disappointed frown at such an idea to begin with.

"As to be expected, of course." He replied after a moment, dark eyes looking away from her.

She merely nodded and pulled up a chair next to his bed, holding her coffee with both hands.

This time, he did look at her. "It's good to see you again, Bells." He added, almost as if an afterthought.

"You do have my number, remember." She offered a smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes and Charlie noticed.

"Yeah, well, it's not the same."

And it wasn't. She knew that. Right here, sitting in front of her father after so long apart, she could feel the gap between them diminishing, as if it were never there to begin with. After all, she had been the one to rip the band-aid off of their relationship anyways.

* * *

 _"Bella, if you just tell me what's wrong- what's going on- anything, maybe I can-"_

 _She had whirled around so fast that Charlie had to quickly stop himself before he collided into her. Her once soft, brown eyes were now a wild golden hue almost as she addressed him._

 _"I can't, Charlie!" She screamed, the sound piercing his eardrums and causing him to wince. Especially since she addressed him by his first name. "You can't fix anything! You couldn't fix what happened with you and mom and you sure as hell can't fix what's wrong with me!"_

 _Bringing up Charlie's failed marriage took a bigger toll on his heart that he never liked to bring up and that was exactly what Bella zeroed in on. She was hysterical as she lashed out at him, bringing up everything he never thought would ever come out of her mouth. Her white, hot anger was coursing through her blood stream at an alarming rate, causing Bella to lose her breath more than once during her outburst._

 _She had messed up, in more ways than one, that night. Bringing up how much Charlie had screwed everything up. Stating all the things she thought she'd never have to address, because Charlie was a good father. Even when she wasn't living with him, he was there for her. For the birthday's and Christmas, and even Thanksgiving and Halloween. She even got a chocolate basket full of different edible candy bunnies on Easter. Charlie wasn't a deadbeat._

 _But boy, did she make him out to be one that night._

 _Truthfully, she was just trying to make a clean break. At first, anyways. But as things began to pile themselves on her conscious, with Edward and his family, with the bloody mess she'd left in the next town over-_

 _It had all begun to be too much and the only way out, she thought, was the messy way._

 _That had been the second time she had broke his heart. She knew better than to try for a third._

* * *

"So," She decided to change the subject before she caught herself falling back into that same hole she had barely made her way out of to begin with. "Have you heard from mom?"

Thankfully, Charlie took the bait and nodded his head. "Phil actually called yesterday; sends his prayers."

Bella wanted to laugh at that. Charlie looked like it, too. If there was one thing her father thought was hilarious in itself, was the fact people actually _sent_ prayers in regards to ones health. Charlie wasn't a huge religious freak and sometimes they found amusement in those small things.

"And apparently, your mother twisted her ankle during a friendly game of tennis with their neighbors. So she's on bed rest."

She paused at this revelation. Her mother hadn't told her about that when she called her before her flight. Although, thinking back on it now, Bella was quick to remedy her mistake.

"The Robinson's," She commented with a sure grin.

Charlie bobbed his head, seemingly on the same page as she was. "I think I recall you telling me how they're _not so friendly_ when it comes to sports."

Oh, that was putting it lightly. Her mother led a very active lifestyle and since moving to Jacksonville, she had called her up more than once to gush about how she had finally found neighbors that shared her same interest. However, a lot of those phone calls were given while her mother was at the doctors office for sprains, pulled muscles, and whatnot caused by the Robinson's who hated failure to a tee.

Despite how many times she tried to get her to take it easy and to _know when to give up_ , her mother refuse to act her age and laughed it off like she was having the time of her life. Bella swore that she'd have to talk directly to their neighbors if she had any hope of her mother's well-being. Phil had tried to reassure her, however, and said he'd make sure there wasn't a next time.

However, it seemed like mother had won that argument.

"How long are you in town for?" Charlie suddenly asked, bringing her out of her thoughts and back to the crushing reality before her.

The whole reason she had left to begin with.

Bella tried not to grimace as she answered, "As long as it takes for you to recover and get you back home."

"Well, in that case, I'll make sure I'll never leave this bed."

It was meant as a joke, she knew, but his words still stung when they were thrown in her face. She tried not to show it, though.

"Yeah, because I'm sure hospital food is _so_ delicious." Unfortunately, she hadn't thought to bring him something more appealing to eat.

However, Charlie waved his hand to dismiss the notion. "I'm on a strict diet, anyways. Doctors orders."

Before Bella could reply, there was a sudden knock at the door though it wasn't closed.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Jacob's familiar voice sounded through her eardrums before she even had a chance to react.

Charlie, as if witnessing his daughter's tense shoulders, quickly looked to and from both parties, before carefully grinning and ushered him in.

"Not at all. Bells was just teasing me with a meatball sub and steak and a juicy, well-done cheeseburger-"

Bella immediately got defensively and leaned forward to slap his arm halfheartedly. "Dad!"

His laughter that followed had become strained as he began to wheeze and cough, giving the other two heads in the room an eyeful and worried glances between the other before Charlie swatted his hand about. Grabbing his oxygen mask and breathing in and out a few times, he smiled warily at her and Jacob.

"I'm _fine_ ," He chided, only half glaring. "I'm old, not dying."

But that must have been a cruel joke by itself because she knew otherwise.

Despite himself, Jacob chuckled and walked further into the room. "Well, you don't look a day over 35, Charlie." The large hand that landed on Bella's shoulder afterwards came as a small surprise and she had to bite her inner cheek to stop herself from outright pulling away.

Her father flashed a look before pulling the oxygen mask away from his face and inhaling deeply. She had wanted to protest, of course, but the hand that was holding her in place prevented her movement. Although, she was tempted to forcefully remove him from her person. Fortunately, the coffee in her hands gave her a better escape.

"I'll be right back." She abruptly stood up, causing Charlie to look at her in alarm. Quickly backtracking, she held up her coffee cup and gestured behind her. "I'm just running to the kitchen real quick to heat this up. While I prefer black coffee, I don't fancy _cold_ black coffee."

Jacob had long since dropped his hand from her shoulder, giving her ample amount of time to escape the room while she still had some control left.

* * *

"Breathe, Bella." She reminded herself quietly, as she watched her cup go in circles in the microwave. "You're better than this. He taught you to be better than this."

She had to continuously recall all of her previous training with Robert back in Georgia, just so she didn't start hyperventilating and fall off the control wagon she worked so hard to remain on top of. Because once her control started slipping, soon the hunger-

Bella quickly shook her head and turned the microwave off before it hit zero; a habit of hers she'd had growing up. Without waiting for the cup to cool down a bit, she made to grab it but another hand shot out and stopped her.

"Whoa there, you're going to burn yourself, Bells." And was faced with the last person she wanted to see right now.

Ignoring his warning, Bella grabbed her coffee and turned around with an unreadable expression on her face.

"I know it's been awhile, Jake, but-"

He quickly interrupted her. "You've changed. Yeah, I can see that."

His hand dropped to fold across his chest in a clear show of superiority, one that didn't size her up as much as he wanted it to. Bella was done with that. Had been for quite some time now.

It was awkward after that, though Bella tried to tell herself it was one-sided. She had always been off-put, for as long as she can remember; but since her transition, she had hoped she had gained some type of confidence.

Deciding to change the topic, Bella switched feet.

"How have you been?"

Jacob frowned, as if having been struck. Bella remained impassive as she waited and didn't offer a second attempt at conversation. If he was going to act childishly, she wouldn't oblige him. She was done pleasing others.

After a moment, he asked, "Do you really care?"

At this, Bella inwardly recoiled. Was he really going to do this? Right here and now?

 _"If it begins to be too much for you, Isabella, I want you to leave. Right away."_ Robert's earlier words rang loud and clear as she debated if she could cause him bodily harm and get away with it.

What little emotion she had left for this conversation, immediately evaporated into nothing as she stole a single step forward. Her fingers wrapped around her coffee cup threatened to break foam as her eyes flickered crimson.

"For the sake of Charlie, I'm going to pretend your jackass comment wasn't said." She began, her voice a low hum of suppressed anger. "And for future reference, when someone offers you a white flag, don't be the dick and knock it down."

Walking past him, she made sure to knock her shoulder with hers. Thankfully, vampirism has given her a boost of impressive strength and she was able to push him back.

"But, you are right," She suddenly stopped in the threshold of the doorway. Glancing briefly over her shoulder, she sent him a deadpan look before saying, "I _don't_ care."

* * *

"You're in an awfully good mood today." Stefan addressed his brother, who was reclined on the sofa with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. "Actually, it isn't just today, is it? You've been like this since you got back from Georgia."

And he had been. It had only been a few days, but ever since Damon had returned, there was an unusual skip in his step and an odd look on his face that only ever occurred if he had misbehaved or was hiding something. At first, Stefan didn't want to comment on it, afraid to ruin whatever cloud Damon seemed to be on, but as one day turned into two and another into four, Stefan couldn't hide his skepticism any longer.

However, Damon remained unmoved by his brother's keen eye, and merely sipped from his cup and turned the page in his book.

 _Call of The Wild._

Something he had read more than a handful of times before, but always managing to capture his attention for more. When he didn't answer his brother, Stefan came around the couch and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Should I be concerned?" He questioned, raising a brow curiously down at him.

If Damon appeared to be taken aback, he did not show it.

"Relax, brother. I'm merely enjoying the solitude of my own company with refreshments and a good read." Damon replied after a moment of Stefan's insufferable gaze.

He didn't seem convinced, however, and stood his ground to seek further explanation to his behavior. Damon Salvatore rarely ever picked up a book and he sure as hell didn't care for a _cup of tea_. The picture before Stefan did not sit well with him and it only further fueled his disbelief.

He wasn't sure how long he had stayed there like that. It must have been long enough for Damon to polish off his tea and find a marker for his book, fore he finally turned his attention upwards as he pushed himself into a proper sitting position to face his brother.

"Contrary to popular belief, Stefan, sometimes I don't outwardly kill people and I do, in fact, enjoy some down time."

His smile was sickening and it caused even further discomfort in Stefan's chest. He wasn't falling for it.

This time, he tried for a different approach. "What happened in Georgia?"

God, his brother really was insufferable.

"What makes you think something happened in Georgia?" Damon countered, trying and failing to hide his amused smirk.

Stefan leveled him with a pointed look and he knew the gig was up. As if there was ever one to begin with. Finally, Damon pushed himself off the couch and headed for the miniature bar behind the sofa. It was definitely his brother that caused Damon to seek solace in alcohol.

"If you _must_ know," He paused, pouring his whiskey in a glass. "I might have met a woman."

At this, Stefan appeared taken aback. That couldn't have been right. Damon was obviously lying. But that weird look flashed across his face once more and Stefan felt bile rise in the back of his throat at the sight. But then, that didn't make sense though, right? Stefan was sure Damon was still hung up over Elena and was most likely trying to find comfort in a woman that really would have him. That must have been it, as it was the only logical explanation. Inwardly, Stefan shook his head.

"You _might_ have?" He asked, zeroing in on his choice of words.

Damon was silent for a moment as he knocked back his shot of whiskey without missing a beat. The burn that ran down his throat was pleasant, but the sudden twist of pain that erupted throughout his chest was another thing altogether. It wasn't real, of course. As Damon was acutely aware of the taste, as well as the smell, of vervain. No, this was something a lot deeper than some witch-y herb. And this fact only slightly bothered the eldest Salvatore.

Finally, after what felt like hours had gone by, Damon turned to his brother with a serious look.

"Tell me, Stefan, what do you know about the _Cold Ones_?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A\N:** I always start writing the next chapter after I post the previous one. I'm invested, what can I say? (Kidding. I'm still the worst when it comes to updating.) I apologize, ahead of time, for any screw ups. Enjoy! :)

 **To all my lovely reviewers;** I cannot thank you enough. Much love. x

 **Chapter three.**

* * *

Okay, so maybe Damon had done his research. Wait. Scratch that, he _did_ do his research. And anything regarding one Isabella Swan had nearly been wiped clean from the system.

Now, how you may ask? Why?

Well, he only knew an answer to one of those two questions and it still perturbed him endlessly. Now, it seemed, he was going to have to find answers the hard way. Instead of using technology, he was going to have to do things in person, through communication and whatnot. The thought irked him slightly, but to find out more about this odd woman, he supposed he could sacrifice a thing or two.

And that's what led him back to Georgia, where he first met her over two weeks ago. Back to that same bar he had been watching her in. Up to the same bartender he had to compel to get any sort of useful information from.

"Can I help you?" Jonathon inquired, glancing around the near empty bar before setting his eyes back on Damon.

Yeah, he had also compelled him to forget he'd been there previously. Just in case. It was still high afternoon when Damon had walked into the bar, eyes hard and pace set to show he was a man on a mission. It was still too early in the day for the bar to be, even a little bit, packed. And that gave Damon the chance to really sit the bartender down to ask questions.

"Well, for your sake, I sure hope so," He grinned, teeth flashing as he motioned behind the bar. "Whiskey, neat."

Jonathon was hesitant before he nodded and set to work, pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels and a glass. Damon frowned at the bottle, but said nothing to stop him. After all, he wasn't actually here to drink. But it should have been a perk.

After he had set his drink down in front of him, Jonathon had made to walk away but Damon was faster. He leaned over the bar and wrapped his hand on his upper arm, clenching down to an almost painful grip. In his panic state, Jonathon nearly screamed but Damon was able to spin him around and lock eyes with him.

"You're not going to scream. You're going to stand where you are and answer any and all questions I ask you with the utmost truth and sincerity, are we clear?"

The bartender looked back at Damon in a trance-like state, his eyes glazed over as he repeated his words back slowly, almost like a drawl. Damon withdrew his hand and leaned back in his seat, grabbing his glass off the counter and downing it in one go.

"First, how about another round. And you might as well leave the bottle here, too." He smirked, blue eyes narrowed in mirth.

* * *

Bella sighed, for what possibly could have been the hundredth time that morning. It had only been three days since she's been back in Forks and already she could feel the toll it was taking on her mentality. Well, whatever was left of it.

Things had been quiet after her outburst with Jacob and since then, he had gone out of his way not to accidentally run into her. Of course, she wasn't really looking out for him either. She didn't understand why he had to make things more difficult for her. The only reason she was back was for Charlie, to make sure her father was okay and things were settled at the house. It wasn't like she was trying to start anything and truthfully, she just wanted to be left alone with her, all too consuming, thoughts.

It was better that way. Always had been.

It was just unfortunate people seemed to be drawn to that sort of thing. Jessica, Mike, Angela, Eric, and _hell,_ even Tyler. It was strange to recall their names now, but as she sat in the middle of Charlie's living room, with nothing but her cup of black coffee and her head tilted against the couch, she couldn't find it in herself to ignore the people who had gotten her to where she was today.

Thinking about them now left a foreign feeling in the pit of her stomach but before she could dwell on it, there was a sudden knock at the front door. Clenching her fingers around her mug, Bella waited, listening intently for any abrupt movement from outside. However, she could only hear the chatter of a girl, two perhaps. Their hearts were beating erratically, as if they had just got through running a marathon.

"Maybe she's not home?" One of the girls questioned, teeth chattering as if she were cold.

The other girl clicked her tongue and Bella could imagine her rolling her eyes at her friend.

"That's her car, right? She's home."

And finally, realization struck her.

Bella surprised herself when her body moved of its own accord, dropping her coffee cup onto the end table and went to answer the door. All the while, she held her breath. Through the window beside the door, she could see the two girls and she quickly opened the door.

Everything was silent as all three girls exchanged looks. After a moment, the girl with the familiar glasses stepped forward.

"Bella?"

Her voice had seemingly died in her throat but she knew who they were. Angela and-

"Took ya long enough, jeez." Jessica snapped, pushing past Angela to pull Bella into a tight hug.

Bella froze at the contact, her eyes nearly wide as she stared over her shoulder in silence. Angela smiled sheepishly before joining in and then she was consumed by heavy perfume and the sweet smell of human skin.

 _"Control,"_ Robert's words echoed in her mind as if he were preaching them to her right then and there. _"If you're to learn anything under me, it's going to be control at, the very least."_

Remembering the vigorous training she'd been put through under the old man's care, Bella shoved the hunger down immediately and retreated to the forefront of her mind; her conscious. Just like Robert taught her.

 _"Always stay the furthest away from the back of her mind. I've watched you, Isabella. And I noticed that as soon as you recede to the back of her thoughts, the monster you're working so hard to control, breaks through."_ He had recited carefully, eyeing her as if he really could see her. _"Always stay alert, my dear. You're better than what you thought you've become. I cannot stress enough how much you deserve this freedom, this life you've conjured up in the darkest parts of your mind. You deserve it. Always remember that."_

And then, another thought dawned on her. It was still mid-morning and a weekday.

"Don't you guys have school?" She asked, almost conversationally though she probably sounded stupid.

Once they removed themselves from her person, they looked at each other before erupting into fits of laughter. The sound was pleasant and Bella almost found herself smiling in response. How simple it could have been, if only she were still human.

"Glad to see you're still awkward as ever, Bella." Jessica laughed before motioning behind her. "Well, aren't you to invite us in? It's been a hella long time and I'd rather not reminisce out on your porch."

Angela quickly concurred. Bella immediately let them in, mentally kicking herself for being so rude. Really, hadn't she'd learned anything? Shutting the door behind them, she offered up drinks and before she knew it, they were gathered out in the living room and conversing quietly amongst themselves.

It was strange, honestly. To be talking so loosely with her old friends like she use to. It seemed like decades had passed by and she wondered if she even knew how to be human anymore.

 _'Of course you don't, idiot. You were barely passing school.'_

And it was true. Even being a vampire now, she didn't have high hopes she could make it through school. And really, she wasn't all that interested in it anyways. Briefly, she wondered how _they_ did it. The ones who abandoned her. The ones who repeated high school on a loop over some inside joke they all shared with each other. It was baffling and honestly, it kind of annoyed her. Whatever joke they thought was becoming of it, wasn't actually funny. It was sad.

But that was probably just her being a spoil sport. Either way, she didn't care.

"You seem to be doing a lot better," Angela commented after Jessica had got done ranting about how life had been since she's been gone.

Jessica and Mike started dating. Angela and Eric were together, but she didn't appear to be as thrilled as she had been when she had brought up her crush so long ago. And apparently, Tyler was on and off again with whomever actually gave him the time of day. That one was a little hilarious as he did try to hit on her in the beginning, too.

Bella tried for a smile, but it didn't feel like it sat right on her face. "As best as I can be," She offered, knowing she could at least tell them that much. "My dad is being brat, but he's doing good right now."

Right now being the optimal term. She was more than positive he'd revert back to his old ways once he was released from the hospital.

Jessica nodded, as if listening intently. "Yeah, we heard the Sheriff was admitted. What did the doctors say?"

"The cancer isn't as bad as it could be; but if he doesn't quit smoking now, he's not going to last."

Out of habit, Bella bit the inside of her cheek. It felt weird to confirm his demise, but she knew it was the truth and the doctors weren't in the habit of sugarcoating anything. Least of all, cancer.

Both girls gave her a sympathetic look, but Bella merely blinked in return.

"My great-grandmother had lung cancer. Started smoking when she was fifteen, all the way until she died with an oxygen tank glued to her side like second skin." Jessica deadpanned, causing Angela to slap her friend's arm.

"Jess!"

Without warning, Bella began laugh. It was crazy and she was sure she'd not laughed this much even when she was human, but sitting in front of her old friends and hearing Jessica sprout words that were meant to encourage, if not offend, reminded her what it felt like to be normal again. To be human again.

Angela had glared daggers at her friend, still horror struck at Jessica for saying what she had. Jess, however, merely rolled her eyes and shrugged before eyeing Bella curiously.

"Sorry, I didn't actually mean what that sounded like..." She trailed off uncertainly.

Angela sighed. "Are you sure you're okay, Bella?"

After Bella had calmed down enough to form words, she smiled. And honestly, it felt like it was real and believable, at least to her. Both Jessica and Angela exchanged looks and when they finally looked back at her, Bella had stood up and grabbed their glasses.

That was the million dollar question that seemed to be on everyone's mind. Her friends, Charlie, and Robert. Robert made sure to ask her that at least once a day and sometimes, she caught herself wanting to yell at him. Of course she was okay; she wasn't sure what other ways she could show him that she was. But now, as both girls waited for her response and realization dawned on her like a smack to the face, she found herself relaying the same words she always told Robert.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

* * *

"Jake, you're being ridiculous, calm the fuck down." Embry called out, Quil hot on their tails.

Ridiculous? _Ridiculous?_ No, Jacob was feeling a lot of different things in that moment, but _ridiculous_ was not one of them.

"The one ridiculous thing here is Bella thinking she can act whichever way she pleases and think that her actions don't bother anyone!" He screamed, storming through the woods and shedding his clothes as he went.

Embry and Quil shared a look. Bella had been back in town for a while now and ever since her and Jacob had faced off, he'd been in the worst mood possible. And that was something, considering Jacob was usually the more collected one of the pack. Not as much as _they_ were, but maybe a close third compared to the rest of the pack.

From ways ahead of them, Jacob was still ranting, "She thinks that she can just _waltz_ back into town and pretend like everyone should fucking _forget_ she ever caused a shit storm when she fucking left!"

Okay, now it was bad. Jacob rarely ever swore, except when provoked badly. And with Bella's name in the mix, the two boys following after their friend had the sudden thought to detour and leave him alone.

They couldn't do that, of course. They'd be the ones under scrutiny if they left Jacob alone under these conditions. Er, _emotions._

This time, Quil spoke up on his behalf, "We get it, man. She done fucked up, alright? She's a bitch-"

Abruptly, Jacob whirled around, half naked and ready to transform. " _Don't_ call her that!"

Both boys immediately stopped in their tracks and Jacob glared daggers, the mess of black hair wild despite the lack of gel in it. Before they could stop him, Jacob turned away from them again before shifting without another word. All they saw was the giant dog running through the woods and a howl that could have shaken the earth.

"What an-"

"-Idiot."

They both laughed.

* * *

"Okay so, tell me again why you thought _I_ would know anything?" Bonnie Bennett countered as she sat, back straight, on the Salvatore sofa of the parlor room.

Thinking back on it now, it didn't seem likely Bonnie was going to be of use in that moment. She may have been a Bennett witch, but she was still a human when it came down to it. She hadn't lived as long as he had. She didn't know half of what the world had to offer.

Stefan sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I, I don't know. Damon's being strange and I didn't really know who else to turn to."

Blinking, Bonnie had to hold back her laughter at the notion.

" _Yeah,_ because I'm your go to girl when it comes to your egotistical brother." She rolled her eyes. "What could possibly be so wrong with Damon being interested in another girl?"

Stefan gave her a pointed look and she immediately back-peddled. The obvious answer smacking her in the face.

"Right, sorry."

"And anyways, you know how my brother is. I can't trust that he won't go on a murderous rampage if things don't go his way."

Bonnie nodded. "So, do you actually know anything about this woman?"

He didn't. He wasn't even aware of her name; only the fact that she had something to do with something called the _Cold Ones_. It bothered him slightly, as he had been around for a long time and yet, he's never once heard of the term. But Damon, Damon knew something and he wasn't being entirely honest with him. He wouldn't have been so calm otherwise.

"All I know is that she's some type of vampire."

That didn't give her much to go on. Pursing her lips, she finally sighed and stood up.

"I'll see if there's anything in Grams books but, don't hold your breath." She offered him a smile, to which he quietly thanked her and walked her to the door.

Before she got too far, he called out to her, "Also, could you not tell Elena about this. I'd rather her not get involved, if possible."

Even if she swore up and down that she didn't harbor any feelings for his brother, he'd have been a fool not to see the attraction in her eyes whenever they were together. Perhaps he was being a jealous boyfriend, but keeping Elena away from anything that had to do with Damon was how Stefan was able to sleep at night. No matter how messed up it was.

Bonnie waved over her shoulder, indicating she understood and walked to her car. Stefan watched her peel out of the driveway before walking back into the house, heading towards the library. Though he had already checked every inch of that room for information, another look wouldn't have hurt.

* * *

Charlie had been fiddling with the remote to the television when he saw a figure at his door from the corner his eye.

"Is it finally time for my muscle relaxer-"

He barely turned his head before his brown eyes went wide, mouth falling open in a perfect 'o' shape. The pixie haircut caught his attention before her face became completely visible and he found himself unable to form words as the familiar woman walked into the room, slowly shutting the door behind her.

"Hello again, Charlie."

"...Alice,"


	4. Chapter 4

**A\N:** I'm not gonna lie, I didn't think this story would get such positive feedback. It means a lot to me, thank you all so much! :)

 **Also.** I had a little bit more trouble with this chapter... Hence the late update. I'm sorry. (I also moved, so there's that, too.)

 **Chapter four.**

* * *

"Would you like me to get the nurse?" Alice offered, giving him a small smile to show she meant well.

But Charlie didn't want to believe it. He couldn't. There was no way Alice was here, still standing over the threshold of his hospital room and speaking to him. It felt surreal, considering how long it had been since he'd sat down with the young woman and had a decent conversation. Despite how long it had been, despite what his daughter had to go through with her brother, he missed Alice.

And even though Bella still held hard feelings inside about the Cullen's, he was sure she missed her as well.

When he could finally bring himself to speak, he motioned her inside. Slowly, she stepped forward and closed the door behind her as she went.

"It's been awhile, Charlie," She tried again, pulling up the hospital lounge chair to the side of his bed. "I had hoped I wouldn't have found you in the hospital though."

Charlie watched her carefully. She was just as he remembered her, thin and dainty, but carefree and beautiful. She still appeared like a statue, carved from the finest marble known to man.

Even under his scrutiny, she continued, "Maybe I should have pushed you a little more to quit smoking." She shook her head, pausing briefly. "Maybe you wouldn't be hooked up to an oxygen tank otherwise."

Oh, now he recalled one of their earlier conversations. She lectured him about the effects smoking would have on his lungs; but he had been smoking even before Bella had been born and despite the occasional break ups, he still couldn't resist the allure of having that cancer stick between his lips and the smoke filling his respiratory system.

To lift the tension in the room, Charlie waved her off, grabbing the tubes that filtered his oxygen and tossed it aside carelessly.

"What? This thing?" He scoffed. "It's not your fault. I've just never really been good with listening."

"I can see where Bella gets it from." She commented offhandedly.

At this, silence fell upon them. Charlie shifted in his hospital bed, only slightly uncomfortable and waited for Alice to speak once more. It was a long while, but finally, she sighed and stood up. His eyes immediately sought hers and she flashed a sincere smile. One that didn't quite reach her eyes but was just as genuine, if not remorseful.

"I really shouldn't be here." She said, mostly to herself. "But after I heard about you being hospitalized, I knew I had to come see you."

She liked Charlie. Not in a romantic way, but he was an old soul that interested her and kept her laughing whenever she was around him. He was a good guy and he surely did not deserve the awful four walls of a dank hospital room.

Charlie huffed, murmuring, "What is with you girls and feeling sorry for this old man?"

Alice immediately faltered, her eyes drawing towards Charlie's and freezing.

"W-What?"

"Have you been in town long?" He asked, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully.

Alice shook her head.

"Yes, well, you're not the only one who's caught wind of my incapacitation..." He trailed off, looking everywhere else but at her.

He wasn't sure how much he could offer her in this situation. Bella would most definitely not be impressed with him if she saw him conniving with, in her terms, the enemy. But she didn't have ill feelings towards Alice, right? It was only to that good-for-nothing Cullen boy, he was sure of it. To this day, Charlie never understood what she saw in him to begin with.

The gears in Alice's head were turning slowly, despite how quick she was on her feet. She was stuck on autopilot and unsure how to move forward with this new piece of information. She hadn't realized Bella had been back in town, though it should have been obvious. Charlie was her father, after all.

But, she should have saw her, right? That was how she knew Charlie was hospitalized. She foresaw this happening. But with Bella, there was nothing. Hadn't been for quite some time. It was like there was some barrier that enveloped her entire person, long after she had become a vampire and her family had left Forks. She wasn't sure what it meant, but whatever it was, it didn't sit well with her.

"You can go see her, if you'd like." Charlie suddenly spoke up, his tone slightly hopeful.

Alice frowned, shaking her head once more. "I don't think she wants to see me, Charlie."

"She doesn't blame you, ya know? I get it, though. You're all family, it's to be expected."

Somehow, she knew Charlie didn't get it.

"But, I've missed you, Alice," He continued. "And I know Bella does, too."

She wanted to argue with him, to make him understand, even if only a little. But doing that meant bringing the truth to light and Charlie wasn't ready for that. Hell, she was sure Bella herself wasn't ready for that. There was too much at stake, too much that could end badly and while Alice had been a vampire for a _very_ long time, there was still so much Bella couldn't do herself.

And they had left her to fend for herself in that regard. No matter what Charlie said to justify their actions, Alice was all too aware of the pain they had put Bella through and there weren't enough words in the English vocabulary that could make up for that.

However, she wasn't back in Forks for nothing. And she knew there were things she had to do before she could allow herself to be consumed by her guilt.

* * *

Bella had just settled down again when Jessica and Angela exchanged a dubious look that spoke volumes. Before they even said anything, she knew what they were plotting, what they really came to Charlie's house for.

"Is that what we're doing?" She suddenly asked, reclining against the couch with her black coffee spiked with just the right amount of whiskey Charlie kept in the cupboard. "Beating around the bush until I cave in?"

When an hour passed and then the clock was nearing the two hour mark, Bella had felt her stomach being to turn and her throat start to clench. It wasn't that she couldn't control the hunger that reared its ugly head every now and again, but sitting in the same room with two erratically beating hearts and the quickened pulse that nearly drew her in every so often, started to get to her.

"Bella-"

Pursing her lips, she tried for a smile, biting back the bitterness she felt rising.

"Go ahead, I'm not so sensitive that you need to hold back the real reason you're here."

It was quiet for a long moment before either of the girls spoke up. The tension in the room was thick and could have easily been cut with a knife. This time, however, Bella remained impassive, something she could have never pulled off as a human. And maybe that's what she actually liked about being a vampire now. The emotional ties that held her together once before, now were stripped away like armor off a knight after a long battle.

It was quiet for a long while. Bella gingerly sipped from her cup, relishing in the small burn that slipped down her throat with relative ease. While she didn't pointedly look at them, she did managed to catch their attentiveness through half-lidded orbs. She knew what they wanted to ask, had practically felt it the moment she opened the door to their presence.

Despite that, she wasn't sure what was she was going to tell them. While being a vampire gave her better control over what expressions she could allow to pass over her face, she was still undecided how she truly felt about the matter.

Even though it appeared Jessica had wanted to speak first, Angela beat her to it.

"Why did you leave?" She asked, her tone solemn and grave.

Out of everything she could have asked, that question was the last one she expected to hear.

Bella did not readily reply, as she wasn't sure what she could or could not say. She _obviously_ couldn't tell them that prior to her departure, she'd been bitten by a bat shit crazy vampire, hellbent on gauging a reaction out of her and hurting her companions (at the time), and turned her. Not only would they not believe her, but she'd rather not recall such ugly memories she's tried so hard to bury in the back of her mind.

Both girls were patient, however, and did not rush for an answer despite the anxious looks on their faces. Had they always been this pushy? Bella couldn't remember. Finally, after a long moment, Bella sighed and shifted positions.

"Family issues." She lied, unblinking.

Jessica was quick to call her out, "But Charlie-"

Bella shook her head. "My grandfather, on my mother's side, he isn't in the best of health." Technically, that wasn't a lie. Robert was an old man, in pretty decent shape for his age, maybe, but he was like family now. "My mother wanted me to check in on him in Georgia."

At this, Jessica choked. "G-Georgia?!"

"Wow," Angela nodded along, clearly as stunned as her friend was. "Georgia? That's a pretty big change from Washington. Is your grandfather okay?"

"As to be expected." She repeated, taking another sip of her coffee spiked whiskey. Or was it whiskey spiked coffee? Inwardly, she laughed. Before she could say anything further, however, she heard her cell phone go off in the kitchen.

* * *

Okay, despite the fact that he had compelled a great deal out of Jordan-

Wait. Was it Jordan? Josh? Julian?

 _Jonathon._ That was his name.

Even though Jonathon was thoroughly compelled, Damon still felt skeptical when he offered up Isabella's phone number without batting an eye. Sure, he didn't think he was going to have trouble getting this piece of information, but it still felt easy somehow. Too easy.

"Well, Johnny boy, you were an extremely big help today," Damon addressed the bartender, standing up and pulling out his wallet from his back pocket. He may have been a monster, but he wasn't so cruel as to not offer up a tip of his own. He had some standards. He dropped a hundred dollar bill on the counter and flashed his signature smirk up at the still dazed man. "It was a pleasure."

He went to turn around but immediately stopped and back-peddled. "Oh, and _of course_ , Damon Salvatore was never here. If anyone asks, you've never seen my face. We clear?"

Absentmindedly, Jonathon nodded and turned around to go about his business. Damon watched him for another moment longer before he brought the scrape of paper up to his face and furrowed his brow. That curious feeling from before intensified and it left an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach. However, he didn't know why. And that bothered him more than anything.

 _"Oh well,"_ He inwardly thought with a shrug. _"Let's go give Miss Hot Shot a ring, shall we?"_

Walking out of the rundown bar, Damon pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the number scribbled on the paper. He smiled at two women who passed by him, giggling as they went, until his attention was caught as a voice spoke through the receiver.

However, it wasn't the voice he was expecting. Instead, it was rough voice that spoke gibberish that caused Damon to immediately drop his phone and his body to plummet to the concrete.

On the other line, the voice that spoke straight Latin paused before a resounding click was heard and the echoing of footsteps approaching Damon's fallen form.

* * *

Bonnie had been immersed in one of Gram's books when a foam cup landed in her line of vision and she jumped back, startled. She followed the perfectly manicured hand all the way up to her best friend's smiling face.

"Jesus, Elen-"

The brunette scowled and sat across from her, bringing her own foam cup to her lips.

"I'm literally not even trying, BonBon, c'mon."

At this, Bonnie frowned and shut the book she'd been reading, closed. "Katherine."

Whilst it shouldn't have surprised her to see the other doppleganger in town, Bonnie had to remind herself she was outdoors and open to the public eye. Now that she had a better look at the woman, she should have realize it wasn't Elena. Her hair, though pulled back from her face, was curly. And her outfit was signature Katherine-wear, without any sort of subtle hint of Elena to begin with. Their face was the only twin-like piece that did not give them away respectively.

"So, what're we doing?" She asked, sipping gingerly from her cup.

Bonnie didn't even want to think what her coffee was laced with.

" _We're_ not doing anything. _I'm_ , however, researching."

Katherine nodded along, only half-listening. "About?"

The young witch wanted to ignore her, she truly did. But having dealt with Katherine Pierce on more than one occasion and not particularly caring for the outcomes of it, perhaps giving a little information wouldn't hurt. Stefan did say not to involve Elena. While it should have extended to anyone _looking_ like her, Bonnie had the sudden idea that maybe she'd have an input on the topic at hand.

Leaning back in her chair, Bonnie picked up the cup offered to her and leveled her with a look.

"What do you know about the Cold Ones?" She paused, giving the vampiric queen enough time to contemplate her words carefully. "I mean, surely you must've heard something on your travels running away from Klaus."

None of Gram's books had any information on whatever the Cold Ones were, but Katherine had been around for a very long time. And while her choice of words weren't the best, Bonnie still waited to hear what she had to say.

And wait, she did, as Katherine leaned back in her own chair and crossed one leg over the other, peering back at her wordlessly.

Finally, after a long moment, she spoke up, "And who's asking?"

 _Don't say Stefan._

"I am. Does that really matter? You're the one who's bothering me." Okay, now she was sounding snarky. Which wasn't unusual for the Bennett witch, but she knew if Katherine wanted to rip her throat out, she could do so before Bonnie started any sort of enchantment to subdue her. Katherine had gotten better after staying in Mystic Falls for awhile. She improved, learned, and honed her skills to accommodate any and all threat around her.

And that worried her. Bonnie wasn't sure what Katherine's angle was. She should have left town ages ago and yet, she still loitered around, for who knows what reason. And this hadn't been the first time Katherine had sought Bonnie out, even if only for company.

She absently wondered if anyone else knew of Katherine's presence around town lately.

" _Well,_ " She began, her tone conversational despite the heavy subject. "That depends."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes sharply.

"Are we talking about regular ol' vamps or the big, bad groupie that started it all?" She smiled impishly. "The _Original_ Cold Ones."


	5. Chapter 5

**A\N:** Rewrote like half of this because I didn't like how it came out. I've also been sick lately and death has become a constant feeling for me. Cool beans. :)

 **Chapter five.**

* * *

When Damon had finally come to, he was surrounded by nothing except four stone walls and a single chair that was placed directly in front of him. His head was frazzled and he felt like utter shit. Wanting to gather his bearings, he tried to sit up but found that, of course, he was restrained by heavy chains around his wrists and ankles.

"Fucking great," He murmured, barely having the strength to lift his head.

He couldn't remember much. It still hurt too much to even recall what had happened to land him in this cell. But one thing was certain; that phone number wasn't Isabella's.

Abruptly, the door to the room he was in began to slowly creak open and through the haze, he saw a pair of short legs enter the room. The door was shut and locked behind his captor, seemingly aware of the caliber of his prisoner despite the restraints on him.

"Good to see you're finally awake, Mr. Salvatore."

Slowly, Damon met the eyes of an old man, who was now situated before him on the chair.

"You know who I am." It hadn't been a question.

The old man chuckled, shaking his head. "No, not particularly. But I have an inkling."

Damon said nothing as he watched the rise and fall of the man's chest. Absently, his gums began to ache and then he was all too aware of the sudden thirst coursing through his bloodstream. How long had he been down here? When was the last time he had a decent meal of the 98.7 kind? He swallowed to try and clear his mind.

"You look quite parched, my friend." The man spoke, a smile in place. "Are you hungry?"

A scowl in place, he mocked, " _No, not particularly._ "

Despite the situation, the old man did appear off-put and sighed.

"You should be more honest with yourself, Mr. Salvatore. After all, you're going to be down here for quite awhile."

And then came the enchantment, followed by high vocals that bellowed out of Damon's lungs without warning.

* * *

This was extremely awkward. More so than anything Bella had dealt with before; and she's been put through a lot of awkward situations that she didn't care to recall.

After making up an excuse to Jessica and Angela that something had come up, she bid them both a good night and then went to get dress herself. She left out the part of who the caller was, deciding it was better they didn't know lest they overstay their welcome and tease her.

Upon deciding on her outfit, which wasn't anything extravagant, she made her way downstairs just in time to see a dark silhouette on her porch.

"That was fast," She commented upon opening the door.

Jacob Black turned around, wearing his usual dark jeans and flannel shirt, and grimaced.

"Sorry," He mumbled, not meeting her eyes. "Did you need more time to get ready?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "I know it's been awhile, Jake, but _that_ part of me hasn't changed. I promise."

This time, he did look at her. His dark brown eyes gave her a once over before they finally settled on her face, the corner of his lips turned upwards.

"Yeah, it looks like it."

"Oh?" Bella snorted, grabbing her jacket off the coat rack next to the door. "What's that suppose to mean?"

Jake shrugged and jogged down the steps to give her more room. "Nothing. You always look nice, Bells."

She merely laughed in response, locking the door behind her and following after him until she saw what he had driven there. For a moment, she paused, her eyes clouding over and her mind going blank. Despite the vampirism lifestyle she ended up with, it really hadn't been that long since she was once human. And as such, she'd never had the chance to actually ride one of those deathtraps before.

Charlie had always been pretty strict about those sort of things, despite how lenient he was on everything else. Her mother and Phil were no different. She vaguely recalled the one point in her life where a friend wanted to bring her dirt biking and _that_ hadn't gone over well with her parents, either.

"Bella?" Jake called from over his shoulder, holding an extra helmet in his hands as he looked at her in question.

Coming out of her thoughts, Bella flicked her gaze between Jake and the helmet in his hands. He briefly paused, unsure what the hold up was until it finally clicked, and slowly, he grinned.

"Don't tell me you're _scared,_ " He drawled, narrowing his eyes.

Immediately, Bella was toe-to-toe with her friend and glowering. Had she really just hesitated? She was a vampire now. Humanity had been out the door long after her love-hate relationship with motorcycles.

"Give me the damn helmet and get your ass on the bike, _Pup_." She snapped, snatching the helmet from his paws and shoving her head through it.

If Jacob was annoyed by the term, it was quickly replaced with a mischievous grin.

"Your call, _Vampire_." He shot back and mounted the Harley with easy.

True, it wasn't anything fancy and perhaps the dirt helmet didn't match, but she figured that was just how Jake was. Completely out of the ordinary.

* * *

"Do you think it was alright?" Angela suddenly asked, turning her attention from the window over to Jessica, who had her eyes on the road.

She was furiously biting her lip before she was taken out of her thoughts and she gave her friend a sideways glance.

"What?"

"You know," She snapped without meaning to. "Not telling her about _him_?"

Oh, she knew who she was referring to. Had dreaded even bringing it up to begin with, even in the small space of her car. Truthfully, so much had happened already, even before Bella had left Forks. There had been so many rumors, some even proven, about animal attacks on the town and in the forest, even near where they all went to school! It was scary and none of it made sense. Forks, Washington was just a quiet little town. It rained constantly and when it wasn't raining, nothing extraordinary was going on. People went out on Friday nights to the movies or out to the diner and that was it. Nothing out of the ordinary or extravagant. Forks, Washington was as normal and plain as you could get.

The only unusual part of Forks had been the Cullen's. They were strange people; dating their siblings and what not. Sure, they weren't technically related, but it still must have been weird, right? They were adopted siblings. That had to mean something. But none of that seemed to bother them and they went around, coming and going every so often, looking pale and beautiful and all things magical as they passed them, the commoners. Well, that's how she felt anyways.

But then, she didn't see the Cullen's anymore. Didn't hear anyone talking about them and suddenly, there were animal attacks happening constantly. Their friend, Bella, had started to not show her face around, didn't show up at school, and whenever they tried to go to her house to see if she was okay, Charlie sent them away, saying she wasn't up for visitors and/or she was sick.

They couldn't very well fight him, so they left. Every time.

But as the days went on and the attacks became more frequent and close in between, suddenly Bella wasn't in Forks anymore and later on, Charlie was in the hospital with cancer. Of course, she didn't think it meant more than what it was. She'd often catch Charlie smoking outside the police station or coming out of the diner, ready to light one up. It was inevitable, really.

However, the animal attacks still plagued her mind and with the Cullen's and then Bella leaving town abruptly? She honestly couldn't stop herself from thinking the worst.

That, however, she kept to herself. She didn't want her friends thinking she was crazy or anything.

But what Angela had been referring to was the fact that before Bella had shown back up in town, someone else had beat her to it.

* * *

 _Jessica had been out at the grocery store, picking up a few things for dinner that evening when she had caught sight of a_ very _familiar silver car. And not just any silver car. No, it was Volvo._

 _And how did she know it was his car? Well, Jessica Stanley did not forget such trivial things like that. Whilst she may not have been passing with remarkable grades, Jessica did pride herself in being able to recognize the more important parts of her little town. The people in it. And, of course, what they drove._

 _However, it wasn't the car that had stolen her breath and had her nearly dropping her bags right there on the side walk as she halted in her steps. No, because before her stood the last person she thought she'd ever see again._

 _"E-Edward!" She found herself stumbling over the name. It rolled off her tongue with uncertainty and she was sure her ears were flaring a brilliant red to match her cheeks. How embarrassing!_

 _The young Cullen sibling looked down at her quietly, his expression completely blank and his eyes blacker than black. Wait, that didn't make any sense. Weren't his eyes a golden hue before? How strange. She couldn't recall anything before today. Perhaps the lack of his presence in school had altered her image of him in her head. That must have been it._

 _But standing before Edward Cullen now left another foreign feeling in the pit of her stomach. And truthfully, the sight of him alone, nearly towering over her, she felt scared. Somehow. Though she wasn't sure why._

 _When he didn't say anything and Jessica found herself shifting feet almost impatiently, she looked around once before setting her gaze back on him._

 _"Are you, um, alright?" She asked, nearly flinching at her tone._

 _Jessica Stanley was not awkward. So, who the hell was this person and where did her air of confidence go? How ridiculous._

 _Still, Edward said nothing as he watched her through half-lidded orbs. She hadn't realized his eyes narrowed until she blinked back the sudden haze behind her own eyes and found that he had stolen a step into her personal bubble._

 _'Too close-' She inwardly flinched back, narrowing her own eyes._

 _Edward seemed to be thinking long and hard about something, fore when he finally blinked and appeared to_ really _look at her, he moved back, almost as if he had been struck himself. Jessica watched with intense eyes as he began to mumble under his breath, far too low for her to hear. He seemed distraught and, if she looked close enough, sickly even._

 _But weren't all the Cullen's really pale to begin with?_

 _Before Jessica could question him further, Edward had suddenly turned on his heel and began to walk away, still muttering nonsense under his breath. This time, however, she was able to catch a few different words before he disappeared into his car and peeled out of the parking lot with a squeal of his tires._

 _Doesn't work._

 _Slowly dying._

* * *

That had been two months before Bella had rolled back into town and Charlie had been admitted into the hospital.

It hadn't appeared like Edward had been looking for Bella. But, almost as if he was looking for confirmation on something else entirely. She wasn't sure of what exactly but, thinking back on it now, she couldn't recall ever seeing Edward, or any of the Cullen's for that matter, look so feeble and imperfect. It really had felt like the world was ending and pigs were suddenly flying.

A part of her had wanted to stop him, maybe check him into the hospital himself, but fear had taken a hold of her heart and her thoughts were a jumble in her head that all she found herself able to do was watch him walk away from her.

It didn't mean anything though. It couldn't have. No one had really conversed with the Cullen family before. They weren't friends and only kept to themselves, it shouldn't have mattered what was going on in their lives. Not to her, anyways. But then she was reminded of Bella and then, the animal attacks, and suddenly it was getting harder to breathe in his presence.

No, she didn't give a shit about him or the Cullen family. She had tried a number of times to get close to him once upon a time, but after the failed attempts began to pile up and she found herself unable to think properly, she stopped. And then set her sights on Michael Newton. But that was a whole other story.

"Jess!" Angela suddenly yelled, bringing her out of her thoughts and making her stomp on the brake when she noticed the red light.

A few cars that were on the other side of the intersection honked at her, half in the intersection themselves and unsure if she was gonna run the light or not. Angela was breathing heavily and Jessica flashed her an apologetic look, silently scolding herself for getting distracted.

The whole situation was fucked and somehow she knew it was only going to get worse.

* * *

After relaying the information Katherine had on whoever these _Cold Ones_ were, Bonnie had started to pack up her things from the table. Unsurprisingly, Katherine began to stand up as well.

"So, where we headed now?" Katherine inquired with false cheekiness. "Back to the Salvatore's?"

Bonnie paused, her hand still gripped around her Grimoire partially in her bag. She then leveled her with a look.

"What is this _we_ thing you keep mentioning? There's no _we_ , Katherine."

The dark-haired woman frowned, her shoulders sagging slightly. Bonnie knew better, however. Katherine was the Queen of entertainers. This was nothing but a false bravado to lure Bonnie into whatever the hell she was currently scheming.

Placing on hand on the table, Katherine leaned forward, her dark eyes flashing.

"You know that doesn't work-"

Katherine brow furrowed. "I'm not trying to compel you, Bonnie. I'm being serious. Let me help you."

And for a brief moment, Bonnie could have believed her. She appeared sincere enough, willing to lend a hand for the greater good. Only, that was what caused Bonnie to falter in her decision. Katherine Pierce did not just help anyone without gaining something in return. It didn't matter how much someone begged, she didn't care. The only thing she gave a damn about was herself. Always herself. _Always_.

Putting all of her things away, Bonnie pulled out her cell phone to text Stefan and turned on her hell, pointedly ignoring the other doppleganger. Katherine scowled and vamp sped in front of Bonnie, successfully stopping her in her tracks, her thumb hovering over the call button.

"If I really wanted to ruin whatever plans you have right now, I wouldn't be trying to speak with you like this." Her voice was sure and conversational, but Bonnie still felt like there was more than she was letting on. "I gave you the information you were looking for, so why can't you-"

"And _there_ it is," Bonnie smirked, shaking her head. "I knew you had some underline agenda going on."

"BonBon-"

"You just can't bring yourself to be a decent person, can you, Katherine? You believe that since turning, you're inclined to only look out for yourself and do everything that benefits _you_ , that even the simple _thought_ of helping someone other than yourself is some type of taboo law! Why are you so physically incapable of being good?!"

She didn't know why she was yelling now. She sounded awfully like a parent scolding their child and for a moment, Bonnie felt stupid. Why was she still standing here talking to Katherine? It wasn't like she couldn't take her. Sure, she was a very old vampire, having been on the run and had learned a few tricks along the way, but Bonnie was a damn Bennett witch. And that had to count for something.

Looking at her for another moment longer, Bonnie than stepped around her and began walking to her car. From behind her, Katherine was livid. She had wanted to shake the damn girl to bring some sense to her, but that wouldn't have helped her any. She needed Bonnie to trust her and to get her to trust her, she had to play it cool.

Even if it fucking killed her to do so.

* * *

"So," Jake called out over his shoulder, watching with interest as Bella looked around the theme park in earnest.

The date hadn't been on the forefront of his mind when he asked Bella out over the phone. Truthfully, it was only because Quil and Embry wouldn't leave him the hell alone about making amends with Bella. They thought him ridiculous for lashing out the way he did and decided he needed to man up and apologize.

Jacob Black didn't do apologies. It wasn't in his nature.

But they had this feeling that if he didn't, he was going to regret it later on down the road. And maybe they were right... Maybe being a term he used loosely. But as he watched Bella's shoulder relax from their tense default setting she'd had since arriving back into Forks, he started to actually believe them. Jacob and Bella had been friends for as long as he could remember. He even considered them to be like family, in a sense. Except, somewhere down the road he forewent those types of feelings and had begun to adept a more protective roll, possessive in fact. And that was when he knew things were different.

Despite the noise of the theme park, Bella turned her head at the sound of Jake's voice calling out to her.

"You enjoying yourself?" He asked, albeit lamely. He mentally kicked himself.

Without realizing, Bella's shoulders tensed back up and she straightened her posture, though offering him a smile in return. This time, Jake did back-peddle. He didn't mean to cause another rift between them, but what he didn't realize was that, this was just how she was now. Even the smallest amount of a dent in her wall would shatter all the control she had learned to build up since becoming a vampire. And the last thing she needed right now was to give the wolves ammunition to kick her ass out of dodge.

In her head, she began counting.

"I wouldn't really say _that_ ," She drawled, eyes narrowed in amusement. "Do you still think we're kids, Jake?"

"You sure act like it..." He muttered under his breath, unaware he was portraying one himself.

Bella chuckled and turned around, playing jabbing him in the shoulder. Or, maybe playful isn't the right term because he ended up stumbling backwards at the contact.

"I do appreciate it though. It was getting a bit stuffy in that house."

"Why? Are you not able to control it?" He questioned, cocking his to the side as he looked at her.

At his choice of words, Bella faltered slightly.

"Do you think I can't?" She countered, a certain edge to her voice as she turned to fully face him.

Jake crossed his arms over his chest, causing her to frown further at him.

"I didn't say that."

"You implied it."

"Bella-"

She inhaled sharply, her senses coming to life as she was momentarily distracted by a sweet smell coming from her far left. Though her head did not move even a fraction in that direction, Bella's eyes darted to the corner and she caught sight of a little boy that had fallen down and had scraped his knee badly enough to see blood seeping from the wound.

Noticing her lack of attention now, Jake finally caught the scent of blood coming from the direction he noticed her eyes looking towards to catch the sight of the fallen boy and he immediately took action.

"Bella, no!" He snapped, lurching forward to grab her but she was a lot faster.

She ran with lightning speed over towards the boy, Jacob's voice falling into the background. Just before she reached the boy, her eyes finally adjusted to her surroundings and she was able to wrap her hands securely around the slim shoulders of a woman ready to pounce on the boy.

"I knew I smelt something off," She spoke in a cold voice, her arms tightening painfully around the person. "Can't control your urges, _vampire_?"

It wasn't until Jacob had reached them that Bella had seen exactly who she had her hands wrapped around and all the color, whatever had been there to begin with, had drained from her face and she felt her arms go slack as the other person noticed her as well.

"Bella..."

"...Alice."


	6. Chapter 6

**A\N:** Why do I always pile on more work than I can handle? I'm so stressed, haha.

 **Chapter six.**

* * *

Long after the trio had made it back to Charlie's house, it had stopped being hers the moment she left town, Bella continued to count. And she did not stop counting until after Alice had pulled into the driveway and had gotten out of the car.

Well, a mere car was an understatement for what Alice Cullen was driving. She had forwent riding back with Jake on his Harley in favor of Alice's yellow Porsche, in all of it's slick and shiny brilliance. The engine purred like a kitten, even when she sped down the road at a speed that would have given a patrolling officer a whiplash. Jake had been left in the dust, but had pulled up to the sidewalk in front of her house after Bella began to unlock the front door.

Though she suggested he leave, his insistence at being kept in the know-how concerning vampires in Forks had ended that little dispute far quicker than it had started. With only slight reluctance, Bella gave her consent and had told him to follow behind on his bike. Bella didn't trust that Alice would follow her back if she had decided to ride with Jake instead. There was that case of the boy at the theme park, after all.

"I'd offer you a blood bag, but if tonight was any indication, I don't think I can trust you to remain calm." Bella said upon entering the house, Alice behind her and Jake bringing up the rear.

Without having to look at her, Bella could feel the judgement piercing the back of her head before Alice even opened her mouth to decline.

"You drink human blood." It hadn't been a question.

Bella shrugged. "You'd be surprised what you can handle with practice."

Though it appeared as if Jake wanted to say something about the matter, he resolutely kept quiet and followed the two of them into the living room, where her earlier conversation with Jessica and Angela still remained fresh in her mind.

"If you're still offering a beverage, I'll take a coffee. Black."

Bella nodded and headed to the kitchen. While alcohol did more for curbing the urges, she knew Alice to be more refined and delicate in the way she handled her drinks. Black coffee was a good substitute.

As she started up the coffee machine, Bella listened to see if either of her companions would start talking. Oddly enough, they did not and waited for her to reenter the living room once more. When she did, she could see why it was so silent as Alice had taken to the couch, sitting back-straight and stiff as her eyes remained planted on the coffee table in earnest. Jacob was standing by the window, arms crossed and glaring at the side of Alice's head as if that alone could cause it to go up in flames. Bella wanted to sigh and rub her temples. It was time for her to be the mediator, it seemed.

"Thank you." Alice spoke quietly, her eyes not once leaving the coffee table.

And Bella knew why.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of." She said, golden hues staring down at her. "It looks like you haven't hunted in awhile. You were hungry. You didn't hurt anyone, Alice."

It felt weird to say her name and for a moment, she wondered if it came off wrong when she said it. But Alice did not flinch at the sound of her name nor did she shift her gaze to look at her.

"But if you had not been there..." She trailed off, her tone dropping an octave as images began to flash across her face at the mere _thought_ of what really could have happened.

Bella nodded along, not even missing a beat. "You would have stopped. You would have realized, you would have known. And you would have stopped yourself."

Alice's jaw clenched, her gaze hardening on the table. She did not believe her. Not one bit.

"You're wrong." She argued, words resolute.

"I'm not."

This time, Jake answered for her, cutting in with disgust lacing his voice. "She's a vampire, Bella. Craving human blood is in her nature. As soon as she got a taste, there would have been no stopping her."

Alice flinched but Bella remained aloof, continuing to stare down at her without breaking contact at his words.

"Trust me," Bella declared, gaze hard. "She would have stopped."

And even if no one else believed her, Bella spoke the truth.

* * *

 _"You need to learn control, Isabella." Robert deadpanned, eyeing her with a sightless gaze._

 _She couldn't even tell you how long she'd been in this basement. It could have been a few weeks, but truthfully, it felt so much longer. Without the use of windows down here, it was like the dead being enclosed in their caskets, there was nothing but the four walls to hear your cries._

 _"I-I can't!" She wheezed, struggling relentlessly against the chains that held her down._

 _There was a small stand in front of a single chair that sat just out of reach to her. And on that stand lay the one thing that fueled the lust of a vampire. The one thing that was causing her such distress and she couldn't have it. Her jaw was aching as her fangs protruded from her gums, her eyes jet black as they stared long and hard at the cause of her misery._

 _Just one taste. Just one little drop on her tongue was all she needed. Just a little-_

 _She yanked and trashed against her restraints, causing Robert to take a cautionary step back. While he knew they'd hold against her monstrous strength, he couldn't help the slight shiver of fear that ran down his spine at the mere notion that if she did escape, his throat would be on full display to her ever hungry gaze._

 _"Breathe, Isabella. You're overworking yourself for no reason."_

 _No reason?_ ** _No reason?!_**

 _The straight blood thirst that she felt only a second ago had nearly vanished before being replaced by the sudden_ want _to tear him limb from limb. What did this blind old bat know about being a vampire? About wanting to rip open someone's jugular and drinking until there was absolutely nothing left?! That if she didn't sustain a certain balance that drove every goddamn vampire known to man, she could starve to death and that was probably after one went through the transition of feeling every goddamn nerve go up in flames and your mentality completely shut down until you're so far crazed there is literally nothing else you can see but that constant splash of red substance that wound you up before breaking you down once more._

 _She wanted to argue further, to shake him into a coma, but as she parted her lips and her fangs came in clear view, there was suddenly another body in the room and that was cause for alarm. It was a small child, looking barely old enough for middle school, with long blonde hair and blue eyes that appeared dazed and confused._

 _Every nerve in Bella's body shut down. Her mind went completely blank and all she saw was that girl. It almost felt like being human again, as if she were doused in ice cold water and left out in a blizzard to catch hypothermia and die. Whatever blood she already had in her body had frozen over and all she could see, all she could smell was this child._

 _Though Robert couldn't see her, he was quick to catch onto the silent tension that had filled the small space of the room and stepped forward._

 _"Isabella," He warned, his tone low and commanding but she barely heard him. "It has been quite some time since your blood bath back home. Whilst quite a deal of human lives have been taken by your hand, by this thirst you now have, every single one of them had one thing in common."_

 _What the hell nonsense was he talking about now?_

 _He continued, "Do you know what that is, Isabella?"_

 _If he didn't stop calling her that now, she'd rip out his throat for shits and giggles._

 _"They were children."_

 _And he smiled, almost as if_ that _was something to be proud about. As if it was all A-Okay that she had decided to murder adults rather than picking on little kids instead. The thought never occurred to her as she bled all of her victims dry on the streets of a small town one city over. She had just never came across the children when she was out killing innocent lives._

 _Right?_

 _Robert then did the unthinkable and reached out to the little girl, pulling her to him while simultaneously digging something out of his back pocket. And what he took out stopped Bella's train of thought altogether._

 _"W-What the hell do you think y-you're doing?!"_

 _She couldn't believe her eyes, couldn't grasp why he'd go so far! Robert had pulled out a single weapon, sharp enough to cut open a human body with the barest amount of pressure. A scalpel. The dim light in the room was enough to send an angry glare that reflected off the cold metal and into her eyes as he twisted it expertly in his hand. This man was sick, a monster, a-_

 _The cold water splashed on her once more and than she was all-too aware of just what_ she _was. She was the monster. A bloody demon in disguise! And she felt sick all over again because of it._

 _"We're going to test my theory." He nodded, almost in conversation as he held the scalpel to the girls neck. Surprisingly, she tilted her head for better access, almost robotically. "This is about control, Isabella. I believe you can stop, as the situation calls for it. You won't kill her."_

 _" **You don't know that!** " She found herself hissing, the pain in her throat reminding her just how badly he was wrong._

 _"You won't kill her." He repeated._

 _Fool! Idiot! Moronic old man! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stup-_

 _The very tip of the scalpel dragged along the length of her neck, not enough for her to bleed outright, but enough to slow drip down and to garner her attention immediately. Her eyes, the color of pure onyx black, were now focused entirely on the sweet essence flowing freely from the wound and causing Bella's mouth to fall open. Her gums began to noticeably ache and she was just about to break her wrists if that meant getting out of her restraints to capture even a single drop of that delicious blood._

 _"Remember, Isabella," Robert deadpanned, pushing the girl forward and nearly within reach of Bella's open mouth. She was straining herself harder than ever, nearly painfully as she pushed her head as close as she could get. "Control."_

 _Before he released the girl fully to meet her demise, he bent down behind her and whispered something intangible in her ear. So low that even Bella, who probably could have heard it if she were listening, did not understand until the girl's expression drastically changed._

 _She now appeared frightened, though she did not run away. She remained rooted in front of her, just shy of Bella's mouth that ripped snarls out left and right. She could practically taste the soft skin against her fangs, before breaking the pale flesh and hastily consuming all the girl had to offer._

 _"M-Momma..."_

* * *

Okay, so maybe that was a little different at the time, but the notion still stuck. All it took was the right incentive and Bella was sure the same could have been used for Alice. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking to try and cheer up the pixie-haired woman.

Bella sighed as she recalled the long hours of pure insanity she had previously endured under Robert's protection. Which, thinking back on it now, hadn't really been protection for herself as it had been for others. And while she hadn't killed that girl and had learned to control the urges (with plenty of extra training she'd rather not recall), it had been _months_ before Bella had sat down and had a decent conversation with Robert after his ridiculous rehabilitation method.

Jacob, looking extremely tense and uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going, pushed himself away from the window and leveled Alice with an incriminating look.

"Should I assume your back here on official business or do I need to chase your blood sucking ass back out of town with the rest of your family?" He scowled, earning a stern look from Bella, though Alice did not meet his gaze.

"No one else is here. It's just me." She replied solemnly, her mind still reeling from her previous actions at the theme park.

This was definitely not the Alice Cullen she knew. This woman was far to somber and withdrawn. That was who Bella Swan was, not Alice. Alice was the happy-go-lucky, headstrong, life of the party type of girl. Even being with Jasper, who screamed loner syfy guy, did not deter her from being that outgoing, sassy girlfriend Bella was sure drove her old classmates up a wall.

It did for her. At the time, anyway.

Bella didn't want to ask, but the words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Where's everyone else?"

Jake flashed her a look but Bella kept her eyes trained on the crestfallen woman. Alice appeared thoughtful, as if she wasn't sure how she should answer, before sighing and setting her coffee down, without even taking a sip from it.

"I seen Charlie earlier."

Whatever Bella thought Alice was going to say, it surely wasn't that. And it immediately put Bella on edge.

"D-Don't worry though, I didn't attack him or anything." She back-peddled, catching the sudden flash of horror that crossed Bella's face at the mention of her father. "I just, I know I have a lot to compensate for. Not only for myself, but for my family as well."

Bella found herself clenching her jaw, her eyes narrowing sharply. Alice continued.

"I had wanted to apologize to him. I wanted to apologize to _you_ , Bella, but I just-" She was speaking in riddles now and while Bella did her best to be patient with her, she was slowly starting to lose sight of reality the more she opened her mouth. Again, she began to count.

"It's been difficult for all of us. Just up and leaving you here after what happened-"

Almost instantaneously, Bella held up her hand, stopping Alice from speaking further.

"Let's get one thing straight; I don't care for the excuses you or your family have to offer me. I've made my peace with what happened. Sure, it didn't happen over night, but I literally told you that I _would_ have offered you _human_ blood. I have blood _bags,_ Alice. I'm obviously not so far in the dumps where I need you to compensate for _anything._ Least of all abandoning me after I turned."

Okay, that might have been taking it slightly too far. The half-crazed look Jacob had flashed at her was proof of that. And sure, _abandonment_ might have been a strong word, but it was the truth. Even if only a little bit.

* * *

 _Everything hurt. Everything was always hurting. They had warned her about that after she woke up dead._

 _Heh. Woke up dead. They said she should find hilarity to make light of the situation. But there wasn't really anything funny about your whole body aching and the sudden need to stick your fangs in the nearest warm body to gather the rich, human blood of your victim. No, this was no laughing matter._

 _Whilst James had long since been torn to shreds and burned with fire that Bella swore she could still feel against her now pale, cold skin, she still couldn't believe it. She was a vampire now. Something she had craved for Edward to turn her into. They were suppose to be together forever, right? That's what had to happen. They knew this. They all did._

 _So, why was Edward continuing to look at her like he had just made the biggest mistake in all of his centuries worth of life on earth? (That was putting it mildly as Bella continued to forget how old he even was.)_

 _Despite the fact that she now had to learn control, to breathe and blink when was necessary in front of others, and to fight the constant urge to sink her fangs into anything that made any sudden movements, she felt normal. And in the beginning, things had been normal, too._

 _Or, that's what she thought._

 _She had been out with Edward, deep in the forest towards their spot at the meadows when the sudden urge to eat had begun to wash over her. Still being a newborn, it wasn't unusual, they said. And for a short while, they had her hunting almost every day to try and curb her growing appetite. And while she had hunted earlier that morning, apparently, it had been for naught._

 _She smelt him before her eyes zeroed in on the hiker off the trail that her and Edward were currently on. Though she should have been familiar with the overwhelming aroma of something other than the Cullen family, it still shook her to her very core when the scent of that hiker wafted through her senses and she found herself completely locking down on the spot._

 _The Cullen's had prepared her for a lot. Going through her human emotions and hunting animals. But this, no. She was not prepared for this._

 _"Bella," Edward warned, immediately coming to her side and locking his arms around her to prevent her from lashing out in the only way she knew how._

 _Attack now. Ask questions later._

 _And while Edward continued to murmur in her ear and forced her body backwards, as if to hurl her away if necessary, nothing could have prepared him from the sudden revelation of a_ second _heartbeat, so close to the first hiker. They were a couple, she noted as she listened to them speak affectionately to the other, she wasn't even sure what they were talking about because their breaths, now mingled closely together, were far too distracting and the hold Edward had on her was slowly losing their grip and she wasn't sure if it wasn't because of him or the fact that she was slowly forcing her way out of the security of his arms._

 _But it was only after she heard the pounding of hooves against the dirt and the quick snap of her neck to whirl around and face the passing deer did she finally lose whatever makeshift control she had left. With strength that far surpassed Edward since turning, Bella tore out of his arms and shot after the deer at ground-breaking speed._

 _Having caught up to the deer almost immediately, Bella had launched herself forward and wrapped her arms around its midsection, successfully pulling the animal to the ground and her along with it. The cries fell on deaf ears as Bella's fangs tore through its neck and after a moment, the sounds had stopped altogether and all that was heard was her ungraceful slurping as she ravenously drank from the creature without regard for anything else._

 _Edward had showed up a moment later but by then, it had already been too late. The hiker's that had already been close by had ended up there in that same moment and were screaming loudly, causing Bella to lose focus and dart her eyes towards them instead._

 _"Bella, stop!"_

* * *

Needless to say, she had not stopped and Edward had not helped either. Bella had closed her eyes, breathing slowly as if to calm her erratic thoughts from spiraling out of her control. Since being taken in by Robert, that was all she'd ever been taught, all that had ever been drilled into her brain.

Control, control, control.

Without it, she was merely a mindless monster, ready and waiting for her next kill.

Suddenly, Alice was standing and looking at her with such eyes, Bella felt the need to take a step back to retain her personal space.

"We didn't mean for this to happen, Bella! You have to know that! Edward especially-"

Immediately, Bella held up her hand to stop her. "I told you, I don't care anymore. I promise you, I'm over it."

Was she? Because seeing Alice back in town after all this time apart was like being human all over again. She felt vulnerable and weak, almost as if falling apart at the seams. Alice, however, did not appear satisfied with her answer and was glaring daggers though she was sure they weren't directed at her.

"You don't get it..."

Jake, who had been silent the entire time, rolled his eyes. "Then enlighten us, because we'll be here all night at this rate."

Both girls ignored him. Alice clenched her jaw, her dark eyes seemingly growing darker as the seconds ticked on. Even now, she counted on.

"Why are you here?" Bella tried again, this time crossing her arms over her chest almost as if to restrain herself from shaking the woman. "And don't give me that bullshit that you're here to _compensate_ for your family because that's-"

She never got to finish her sentence. Because the next words to fall off Alice's tongue where words that had Bella's unbeating heart coming to life once more.

"Bella, Edward's dying."

* * *

 **A\N #2:** This was more of a look into some of the things Bella's gone through. There will definitely be more as we continue, but I figured some things needed to be explained a little bit. Not much, of course, but enough for now. Until next time!~


	7. Chapter 7

**A\N:** My family likes to keep me busy but when I tell them I have "work" that needs to be done on here, they want to dismiss me like I don't have a ton of followers waiting for me to update... I'm dying right now, hahaha.

 **Also...** HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL! This chapter was actually done _days_ before, but I had to revise a few things here and there and I hadn't really found the time to sit down and look it over. Plus my glasses broke and so my eyes were bugging out staring at the computer screen... I got new ones, so I'm good now. Anyways, thanks for all the continuous support. Much love always! :)

 **Chapter seven.**

* * *

"Listen, I don't know who the hell you are, but if you don't let me out right this minute, I'll give you a death so painful you'll be _begging_ for a quick demise."

The older man sighed so deeply, you would have thought he'd heard this threat a million times before. And truthfully, he had. Isabella had been quite colorful in her vocabulary as well when he had her locked up down here for almost a year when he first took her from Forks. That being, of course, quite some time ago. It was almost like a fond memory he had of her now.

"I do not know what it is with you vampires that feel the need to threaten me with death as if I don't already have one foot in the grave." He shook his head, rolling his shoulders to get the kink out.

He'd been sitting in a folding chair for almost an hour now, merely staring quietly at the elder Salvatore with little regard to his companion. It was as if he was trying to decipher him in some odd way by boring holes through his head as if _that_ was going to do anything. He was blind, after all.

"I'll send you to an early one if you don't let me _out_." Damon hissed, yanking on the chains as hard as he could in his vervain induced haze.

Despite having gotten a dosage of vervain only a little while ago, Damon did not show signs of slowing down anytime soon. This, at first, perplexed Robert, as with these particular vampires, it was easy to coax them into submission with a vervain dart to the main bloodstream. However, here he was, still fighting vigorously to rip the chains from the walls and wrap them around his own scrawny neck to strangle him. It seemed his fellow subject was no stranger to vervain. Robert chuckled in amusement.

"You are quite the fellow, aren't you?" He commented rhetorically, huffing once more.

Damon bit back the retort begging to fall off his tongue as he narrowed his icy blue orbs at the old man. Since awakening, he had listed off countless theories on why he was being held captive. However, none of them really stuck and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what the hell he had done wrong, particularly to this old geezer, to cause him to end up in the cellar of some old witches house. Damon had done a lot of monstrous things in his time, but he was still left in the dark to what forced him into this position he was in now.

And this, it seemed, amused the old bag even further.

"Ya know, I'm really into the whole torture thing myself, _huge_ BDSM fan, but I don't think I see where you're taking this, old man." Damon clicked his tongue, straightening his posture as much as he could being on the floor. "I almost feel like I need to rip a page out of my Damon Salvatore handbook for you to take notes on."

At this, Robert laughed. The sound was throaty and sounded like he needed a tall glass of water.

"You're something else, Mr. Salvatore. I'll give you that." He nodded, relaxing his shoulders as he spoke. "And you're quite right. I don't wish to cause you physical harm, my friend. In fact, the only reason you're even here right now is because you and I share a common knowledge on something that I hold very dear to myself."

Damon's eyes narrowed slighted. "And that would be?"

The smile that Robert sent forced an unknown shiver down Damon's spine, as he whispered her name through the mouth that spoke fondly;

"Isabella Swan."

"I don't-"

Robert snorted. "Don't jest, my friend. I know you were looking for her at the bar."

Damon clenched his jaw, not particularly liking the fact that he had been being watched without his knowledge. Nobody stalked Damon Salvatore. Damon Salvatore did the stalking. Unless, of course, you were curvaceous cheerleaders in mini skirts. Then, by all means-

"And? What of it? You got a thing for brunettes, too?" He drawled, rolling his eyes. He hated to think that, but hey, to each his own.

The old geezer stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head, clearly unimpressed, though Damon hadn't been trying.

"On the contrary, Mr. Salvatore, I don't particularly fancy you scavenging after my cub without my blessing."

Damon nearly gaped openly at the man.

"Well, don't act so surprised." He chuckled. "Isabella is in my care. Has been for quite some time. And don't think I don't notice when a fine, young man is interested in what's been kept under my supervision."

"You act like she's some animal." Well, they were. Sort of. "Besides, I think she's old enough to take care of herself, old man. She doesn't need Grandpa to tell her-"

Abruptly, Damon felt his head begin to burst as Robert started to repeat his enchantments.

"You will not speak so carelessly about Isabella. I know your type, Damon. I know how quick you lot are to lose interest and move on to your next hunt." Robert's voice had taken a cold turn, but all Damon could hear was the sound of brain cells bursting repeatedly in his head. "Isabella Swan has been through quite a lot and I will not allow another man, no matter how noble or otherwise, toss her aside with reckless abandon like last time."

He decidedly left out the part where Isabella had gone through a rampage because of it. There was time for that later.

Damon stuttered for a response and Robert immediately complied.

" _Okayyyy,_ " He said after he collected himself, looking back as he did so. His vampiric ability had already healed the damaged done from the spell. "Touchy subject. I get it. Overprotective and all, I know _that_ type. So then, why am I here? You seem to be going back and forth with the topic, dancing around the real reason I'm here and, being your captive and all, I'd like to know why."

Because this back and forth game was slowly starting to grate on his nerves. Since Robert had begun talking to him, Damon had started to feel his strength come back. Soon he'd be able to rip through the chains and by then, he'd have decided if the blind bat was worth killing or not.

Robert nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as he peered back at him, unseeing though he didn't need to. It was another long moment before he answered him. And by then, Damon had lost all fight in him.

* * *

"You're lying-"

"-Good."

Came both replies instantaneously. Bella's eyes barely flickered towards Jake as she remained unflinching, staring Alice down as if anticipating the hilarious _haha, gotcha, just kidding!_ Though it never came. Not after a minute of strained silence and definitely not after five. Bella chose to ignore Jake's scrutiny as she went over this new information in her head.

There was no way. Edward wasn't dying. Vampire's couldn't _die_. At least, not in the way Alice was implying. For a brief moment, she recalled an earlier memory from a recent outing that caused her to meet someone of the same race as her, though far different in comparison. Whilst Bella and Alice held no heartbeat, that man was an exception. He was definitely a vampire, that had been proven, but it felt like he was in a different vampiric race entirely.

Ignoring the Wolf as well, Alice leveled Bella with a look.

"I wish I was making this up," Alice shook her head. "But would I be back here if it wasn't life or death?"

Okay. _Ouch._

Bella would've been lying if she said that didn't cause an unnecessary stir inside of her. Though she should have realized it beforehand, she couldn't very well stop the sudden intrusive thoughts penetrating her mind and forcing her to rehash all of the feelings she thought she had buried long ago. Almost as if realizing her mistake, Alice quickly back-peddled, flashing her an apologetic look.

"Bella-"

However, she immediately held up her hand to stop her. It didn't matter anymore. It _shouldn't_ have mattered. And it didn't.

"If what you're saying is true then, why come here? Why come back to Forks?"

Jake remained neutral behind her, still very interested on the _why_ part as well. Bella waited for Alice to find her voice and when she did, she very well could have face-palmed.

"Edward ran off without a word and, I didn't know who else to turn to."

And she did, too.

Jake rolled his eyes. "So your first thought was to turn to his ex-girlfriend?" He chuckled sardonically.

Biting her lower lip, Alice turned towards Jake, black eyes startlingly sinister as if she was struggling with something internally he had no hope of understanding. And she was. The hunger.

"Edward _loved_ Bella! He _still_ loves her. And I know that may not mean much to you, _Wolf,_ but it sure as hell means something to us. To _him._ "

Okay, that was _definitely_ not on the list of things for Bella to hear right now. And while she should have stopped her the moment Alice mentioned her brother, Bella did not miss the way her unbeating heart felt like it might bulge out of her chest at any moment. It was tight, unbearably so. And she wanted nothing more to do with the feeling than she did the very first day she'd been put through hell.

She didn't care for love. Hadn't held high hopes for it after the abandonment. She went through the motions of protecting herself, being there for _herself._ First and foremost. No attachments and no love lost. Most importantly, no feelings to weigh you down as you repaired the damage down to the very deepest parts of what made you who you are. Your very soul.

It reminded her of where she stood today and what exactly she had done after they had left. She wasn't proud of what she did, of what she was. But there was one thing she had that would not so easily be ripped from her person.

"That's the thing, isn't it, Alice?" Bella began flatly. "He loved me so much, he just _had_ to leave. Had to find some loophole that would get him out of being with me forever, right?"

The way she spoke sent a shiver down Alice's spine. She could see it in the way her shoulders shook and the way her back straightened a little too tensely. She had hit the nail on the head with that one.

"I murder two hikers and instead of helping me through my first human kill, he'd rather hightail it out of there with his family. _My_ so-called family."

Alice had opened and closed her mouth several times before Bella stopped her, keeping her from only hurting herself before she could find the words. Because really, there were no words. Everything had been set in stone, laid bare for all to witness. They left. There was no way around that. When she needed them the most, when she needed _Edward_ the most, he left. And while she knew what she needed to say to Alice, to turn her back around and shove her out the door without another thought, her mind had already been made up and she, nor Jake, were particularly happy about it.

"Go out and hunt. I don't want to see your face for the next two days. When you've calmed yourself and I can talk to you civilly without wanting to rip your throat out, then you can find me again. Until then, get out of my sight."

And without turning back, she headed up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door, the house rattling at the sheer force and setting an uncomfortable silence between a vampire and a wolf.

After a long moment of silence, Jake sighed and squared his shoulders. "You should probably listen to her. Trust me, when Bella's made up her mind-"

"I know how Bella is!" Alice abruptly snapped, interrupting him.

He couldn't see it standing behind her, but she had been glaring fiercely at the far wall, which Bella had previously been standing in front of. If only she had the power to ignite flames upon a glance. This house would surely have gone up in smoke.

Jacob bristled quietly, ready to just throw her out himself if need be, but after a moment, she quickly turned on her heel and walked out of the living room. Though he could feel how hard she tried not to slam the front door childishly like Bella had done, the door still rattled when she shut it behind her.

Sighing, Jake turned towards the stairs and made his way to Bella's room.

"Hey," He knocked, calling out to her gently. "She's gone now." His unspoken request of _you can come out now_ only stopped by the chunk of wood between them.

It was silent for a long moment and then some shifting around before Bella's small voice came out, replying, "Just, give me a minute."

He had to strain his ears to hear but it was there. The small whimper and then the shaking of her shoulders that met the door that she was probably kneeling against, hunched over and trying to control her uneven breathing, though failing miserably.

"Bells," He tried again, both hands pressed against the door, his forehead leaning against it to better support his weight.

" _Please-_ "

Just a minute. That's all she needed to collect herself. Just one minute.

Jake sighed once more and turned around, sliding his body down the length of the door until he had one leg propped up and the other stretched out. The back of his head met the wood and he stared absently at the closed door of Charlie's room.

"Sure, Bells. Take your time."

He tried to pretend he didn't hear the small, quiet sobs coming from behind him, or the way his chest constricted painfully at the choked breaths and the shudder he felt vibrating the floorboards. And very quietly, in completely broken whispers, she began counting.

* * *

"Bonnie," Stefan greeted as he opened the front door to see the young witch standing there, a collection of old books in hand.

"Unfortunately, Gram's books were not helpful digging into whatever the hell a Cold One is." Bonnie immediately explained upon entering the Boarding House.

When Stefan flashed her a look, she held up a hand to stop him.

" _Fortunately,_ however, I was able to seek answers from a different source..." She trailed off then, uncertainly, brow knitted with pent up confusion she didn't particularly fancy. Of course, who did, really?

"What do you mean?"

Before she could answer, a gust of wind blew through the parlor room and ruffled all of the books Bonnie had deposited onto the table, flipping them all to random pages dramatically. And then, a mocking laugh pierced the air.

"Not so much a source as I am an informat." Katherine Pierce suddenly drawled from her perch on the back of the couch, her high heels digging into the material to balance her. "And as all informat's do, we come at a price."

While this may not have been the way to earn their trust, Katherine was running out of time and this was the only option she saw fit to take. Desperate times and all.

"Care to make a deal, _Stef_?"

Bonnie appeared disgruntled while Stefan's hard gaze spoke volumes. Katherine's deals always lead to one thing or another and usually, it was her safety at the expense of their own. This time, however, they were going to find out just how hard it was to evade the elusive Katherine Pierce.


	8. Chapter 8

**A\N:** So, I had to write out all of my ideas for this fic separately just in case I start to lose my main idea, which I dread for all of my long stories. (Which is why I'm rewriting some of my other fics... Because I lose my train of thought quickly and I can never pick it back up. It sucks.) I plan to finish this fic because I enjoy it so much and its gotten such a positive feedback that I don't want to disappoint anyone as I tend to do often.

 **Also.** Since it's been a long time since I've watched Twilight, I had to refresh my mind on a few details here and there. I don't know if my information is entirely true as I am also _awful_ at history and the A.D. and B.C. time period royally effed me over. I googled all of the information so if something is incorrect, please let me know and also, it's google's fault... Hahaha. Anyways, hope you enjoy nonetheless! :)

 **Chapter eight.**

* * *

"Absolutely not." Stefan deadpanned flatly, eyes hard as steel.

Bonnie remained mute, her lips pursed as she stared between the two. Whatever temper tantrum Katherine was going to throw, she did not want any part of it. Katherine, however, peered back at her once lover with a look of repressed memories, of unspoken desires, and lastly, of a hidden agenda that immediately set of alarms that had ultimately made the decision for the youngest Salvatore.

Heaving a sigh, Katherine hopped off the back of the couch and slowly walked over to him. "Come _on,_ Steffy," She drawled, a perfectly manicured finger nail tracing along his upper chest as she circled him. "Don't you even care to hear my side of things before you make your decision?"

Without missing a beat, he replied, "Nope. Because I know you, Katherine, and I know how things will end coming to _your_ defense."

He wasn't wrong.

"Can't you just trust that I've turned over a new leaf?"

Unable to control herself, Bonnie snorted, the sound causing Katherine to whip her head around to glare at the witch with disdain.

"Katherine Pierce, turning over a new leaf?" Bonnie chuckled, shaking her head. "When pigs fly."

Everything in Katherine screamed to snap her neck, but with ample amount of control, she merely smiled sardonically and turned away. Things were not turning in her favor and it was slowly starting to become a chore.

"Okay, I admit my past endeavors haven't been the most promising-"

"Understatement." Stefan concurred.

"- _However,_ let's not pretend that when it counted, I saved Elena's life."

"When it counted." Bonnie continued, eyes flashing in mirth.

Katherine rolled her eyes and turned back around, facing the both of them with a sneer. "Alright, can we cut the good guy bad guy bullshit? I'm _trying_ here, okay?! I gave you the information you needed on the Cold Ones, the lest you could do is hear me out."

Alright, she was slowly losing whatever control she thought she had previously. While she understood that her past misgivings did not look good on her resume, she didn't think it was going to be this difficult to get them to side with her. There was only so much eye-batting and cleavage showing that she could do to get her way; and even that was becoming a lose/lose situation.

It was quiet for a long moment. Katherine did not continue and Stefan did not urge her to. Bonnie had been on the sidelines, curiously awaiting some type of brawl to come out of this whole ordeal, but fortunately, none had.

"You're absolutely right, Katherine." A voice suddenly spoke up from behind the trio, forcing them all to whip around to face the familiar tone of one Elena Gilbert. "You have stuck your neck out for me before. So, let's hear it. Whatever you want to tell _us_."

"Elena!" Stefan and Bonnie choursed, both flanking her side immediately as Katherine smirked, turning around to face her doppleganger.

"What a pleasant surprise. I was wondering when you were going to stop hiding by the door."

Stefan shot her an accusing glare, to which she merely shrugged and waltzed back over to the couch.

"What are you doing here, Elena?" Bonnie asked, brow knitted worriedly.

Elena flashed her friend a stern glare, one that spoke volumes of her deceit that made the Bennett witch visibly flinch.

"Well, I tried calling Stefan before I came here and when he didn't answer, I tried Damon's cell." She explained, brown orbs narrowed slightly. "Imagine my surprise when Damon wasn't the one to answer and instead, it was some old man. He didn't say anything except that Damon was supposedly _busy_ and then he hung up." This time, she turned to Stefan with her arms folded. "Just what the hell is going on, Stefan?"

Katherine clicked her tongue, grinning. "We seem to have a full house. All we seem to be missing is Blondie... Should I call her, or?"

"Shut up, Katherine."

* * *

"Now, before you say anything, _yes_ I saw Alice and _no_ I'm not mad at you." Bella deadpanned as soon as she walked into Charlie's hospital room the very next day.

Charlie had been eating lunch, albeit begrudgingly per the nutritional section of the hospital menu the doctor had him on, when she waltzed into his room, holding an extra sugary coffee out for him as she did so. His brown eyes lit up like a child on Christmas and immediately accepted the offered beverage whilst simultaneously pushing aside his low-fat diet meal meant to kill.

"I always knew you were my favorite daughter!" He said, taking a long swig of the heavenly liquid.

Bella mock laughed, rolling her eyes. "I'm your _only_ daughter." She reminded and shook her head.

"Yes," He agreed, smiling at her. "And you're my favorite."

Whilst they could have gone back and forth all day, bickering unabashedly, Bella was just happy to see her father smiling despite the circumstances. It had been a long night and truly, this had been the highlight of her stay here thus far.

After she had dismissed Alice, rather rudely though she hadn't cared, she had felt like utter crap the entire night. She had even tried to get Jacob to leave as well but he was as stubborn as a mule and hadn't even batted an eye at her obvious discomfort. He had remained by her side for the most of the night and after she had mustered up enough courage to open her bedroom door, they had spent the better part of the night just talking over drinks. It had been a nice change of pace and reminded her how much she truly missed the idiot since she was forced to leave Forks.

 _Forced_ being the term she used loosely.

"So," Bella began, taking a seat by his side. "I spoke to the doctor-"

Instantaneously, Charlie sighed deeply. Bella paused, a little unsure of his sudden change in attitude but proceeded with caution anyway.

"-And he thinks you can come home in a few days. So long as you _stop_ getting dehydrated and can eat more solid foods."

She blamed herself for that, though. She really needed to stop giving in and buying him sugary drinks and allowing him to eat badly. Everyone at the station had been leaving endless amounts of voicemails on the house phone and it had slowly started to drive her up a wall. It was bad enough a handful of people knew she was back in town, but if the Police Force knew too? They'd show up, uninvited, to check up on her because she was the Chief's daughter and that apparently meant something.

Whilst she could control herself now, she just didn't need the unwanted attention while she was back home.

"I don't think I'm ready." Charlie stated, eyes turned away from her as he sipped his coffee.

Bella's brow furrowed as she stared at him. "What do you mean? The doctor said-"

"I know what the doctor said, Bells. I just don't think I'm ready to leave yet."

Before she could question him further, one of the nurses on call knocked on the door before letting herself in. And for a moment, as the nurse took his vitals and lectured him on the coffee he lied about being decaf, Bella retreated within herself.

* * *

Despite the obvious threats that Robert had no intention of letting go of anytime soon, he went on to unchain Damon from the wall, allowing him freedom to move about at his leisure. It was a long moment before Damon moved from his spot on the hard floor and when he did, he moved slowly and deliberately to avoid causing any unnecessary stir within the old man.

For being such an ancient artifact, the old witch sure packed a helluva punch with his weird enchantments and Damon wasn't ready to be back on the receiving end of those harsh Latin words.

"If you're ready, follow me." Robert spoke after a brief pause once Damon had fully made it to his feet. Though he was blind, it was as if he had 20/20 vision and could see his movements as clear as day. Damon knew to tread carefully, as there was definitely more to this geezer than met the eye.

Without waiting, Robert turned around and walked out of the room, Damon not too far behind. The basement of what he realized to be an ordinary house, looked similarly like the Boarding House's basement. Though a lot smaller in comparison, the walkway to get upstairs held a striking resemblance and though Robert had been leading the way, Damon was sure he would have been able to maneuver just fine on his own.

When they finally managed to get upstairs, albeit a lot slower than Damon wished, he found that the house was completely normal and would never hope to give off any indication that the old man was into some serious business down below. Or, well, that's what Damon would have liked to think. Unsurprisingly, the upstairs looked a lot worse for wear than the basement did. Books of all kinds were littered about the living room, some open and some not. There were strange objects on the couch, on the floor, and on the coffee table, next to viles of different colors and shapes, harboring odd smelling liquids Damon didn't care to know about.

"I don't suppose spring cleaning was on your list of things to do today?" Damon commented dryly. "Ya know, apart from your sick fantasy of torturing stray vampires."

Robert chuckled but said nothing, simply waving his wrinkly hand over his shoulder dismissively. Damon eyed the back of his head warily before shifting his gaze to other parts of the house that appeared untouched by magical potions and books. However, there wasn't much to look at. Robert's house, well he imagined it to be his house, was completely bare of all personal objects of sentimental value.

 _'I wish my families house had been this cozy.'_ He thought absently with a roll of his eyes.

"Ah, here we are." Robert suddenly spoke, bringing Damon out of his thoughts and realizing they had taken another flight of stairs to the upper floor, where he surmised the bedrooms and another bathroom were located.

Damon, being much taller than the old man, peered over his head at the partially opened bedroom door that had the distinctive scent of a woman. And not just any woman, a woman that he has had the pleasure of smelling before.

Robert nodded, as if confirming Damon's thoughts. "This is Isabella's room."

"I don't think she'll be too happy with us rummaging through her belongings."

At this, Robert snorted though Damon was sure it might've been a laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous, my friend. As this is my house and she is under my roof, what's hers is already mine."

 _'Spoken like a true, controlling parent.'_

"Yes well, you keep calling me _friend_ but I still don't think I fully understand what that implies." The eldest Salvatore confessed, cautiously walking into Bella's room behind Robert.

The bedroom was exceptionally plain, as he was sure it was meant to be. Somehow, he hadn't pegged Bella to be highly decorative anyways though he still was quite surprised there wasn't at least photos of her family or friends around.

Wait, did she even have any?

Before he could ask, Robert pulled back a chair in the far corner of her room, as if he already knew it was there and waiting. Damon watched, albeit slightly distressed as he wasn't sure what to do with himself. How strange, being Damon Salvatore, it shouldn't have mattered and he shouldn't have been feeling a little self-conscious being in her room without her there; but there it was, burning within the depths of his veins like a fire on an open wound.

"Tell me, Mr. Salvatore, have you been to Italy before?"

The sudden question halted any further contemplation on Damon's part and he had refrain from rolling his eyes. Was this old man senile? Snorting, Damon gestured to himself.

"Have you forgotten what I am? I am over 170 years old. If I have not been living out my vampirism to the best of my ability, I surely do not deserve to live another moment longer." He replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. At this point, he was definitely going to eye roll himself into another lifetime. " _Yes_ , I've been to Italy. Beautiful and romantic; I wonder if Isabella would enjoy it."

Abruptly, Robert's facial expression darkened.

"Most definitely not." He immediately answered, teeth Damon was sure were dentures, grinding. "The scenery and good wine are not what make Volterra, Italy what it is."

Damon inclined his head minimally. Robert continued.

"There is a place in the city of Volterra, controlled by a specific Coven of the highest caliber of vampires. Very old, very large, and very powerful. They are the Volturi-"

Damon suddenly scoffed. "I think you have your information crossed, old man. The oldest and strongest family I know of are the Mikaelson's. Real pain in the ass, too."

Robert shook his head, staring off past a point over Damon's head that he couldn't see and went on, unbothered by Damon's lack of knowledge.

"Allow me to explain something to you, Damon. The Mikaelson family has been around since the 11th century, yes, _however_ , the Volturi have been wandering the Earth far longer. Since around 1200-1100 BC. And though the Mikaelson's are immortal and cannot die by anything other than white oak, the Volturi are powerful in the way that they think and how they present themselves. They have strange abilities that can make them a nightmare to people like you."

Damon had to refrain himself from scoffing outright once more. Was he really listening to this babble? The old man must have sniffed one too many potions in his lifetime because there was no way in hell he was insinuating that their were monsters far sinister than the Mikaelson family (and he was reluctant to admit even that). Whilst Robert allowed the information to sink in, Damon was still uncertain where he was taking all of this.

"The Volturi was founded by two of their three leaders. Aro and Marcus, along side a man that was recruited later named Caius. There are several other high class vampires that are a part of this Coven as well."

When would have been an appropriate time to ask how the hell he knew all of this? Damon remained silent nonetheless and waited.

"I understand you're most likely bored of this conversation as it has nothing to do with you personally. In your world, none of this has anything to do with you or your friends back in Mystic Falls-"

Okay, _what-_

Robert smiled. "Isabella does not move nor glance at another individual without my knowledge. As soon as you approached her, I was made aware and I've done my research accordingly. I know everything about you, Damon Salvatore. As with all my information I've collected over the years about any given topic of my choosing."

"That's...unsettling." He commented cautiously.

"I prefer the term ingenious, actually."

Damon shrugged. "Whatever helps you sleep."

"Carrying on; the only reason I'm bringing the Volturi up is because of Isabella and the _company_ she's previously kept."

"I don't think I'm following but go on."

Nodding, Robert continued, "Isabella has only recently become a vampire. Though not like you or your brother. She is what is known as a Cold One. While you can keep a sufficient amount of blood in your system to function normally, Isabella struggles with control. She does not sleep and food is rather unpleasant if it is not directly consumed from the vein. For those like her, compulsion is not a thing and burning in daylight without a mystical ring is a myth." Robert briefly paused, as if wanting to elaborate further but slowly shook his head and continued on without explaining. "That is not to say that she doesn't have basic abilities either. In fact, she does have strength and speed to accommodate her new lifestyle and while she would still be no match for someone of your age," Robert smirked wryly. "She could still be able to hold her own on a one on one match if backed into a corner."

Damon strangely felt like Robert had been laying out baby pictures of his precious little girl for all to bare witness. Surely, Bella would not have been impressed by her guardian if she had been in the same room as them.

Suddenly, Robert stood from his chair and ushered him back out of the room and towards another door altogether. This room, unlike Bella's, had been wrecked beyond all recognition. And that was only because there were filing cabinets upon filing cabinets _everywhere,_ as if this old man's life was safely tucked away in all of them for later reminiscing. Further back into the room, there was a desk that was surprisingly a lot cleaner than the rest of the room and on it, were files with pictures tossed carelessly on top of them. If Damon wasn't already aware this man was a warlock, he was certain he'd pass for a private investigator.

Slowly approaching the desk as to not disturb the rest of the cluttered room, Damon peered down at one of the black and white photos. Photographed looking over her shoulder with a mess of curly hair, was a beautiful woman.

"Red head?" Damon guessed aloud, smirking to himself. And here he thought the man was into brunettes.

Robert, catching the joke immediately, frowned and appeared disgruntled, showing more of his age with every passing moment.

"This is where it gets a bit more complicated, my friend." Robert sighed, his jaw clenching as he took an unsteady breath. "That woman is partially to blame for the mess that Isabella is in right now."

And suddenly, all jokes were lost on him.


	9. Chapter 9

**A\N:** This chapter, the sole reason it is extremely late, came out incredibly _slow._ Words were failing me and so, I had to take days upon days to brush through what I had planned over and over until it all came together. Sort of. I'm still a little skeptical, but I know you guys have waited long enough. I'm sorry. :(

 **Traceybuie:** I would hope that Damon and Bella have more scenes together... This story _is_ centered around them. :o Everything ties together so it's only a matter of time. Sorry. I hadn't really planned on dragging this fic out so long. But I guess I couldn't help myself adding more to the story. Also, Robert has his own part in all of this, too. I can't really say much but he's neither good nor bad. It's all about perspective really.

 **To all of my wonderful readers;** Thank you for sticking by this fic thus far despite the rocky start. It means so much to me. :)

 **Chapter nine.**

* * *

That evening, after Bella had bid her father a goodnight and left the hospital, she had driven down to the pier to be alone. Her nerves were shot and the last thing she wanted to do was go back to that house and see Alice waiting on her porch, if, of course, she decided to heed her warning and come back. She didn't even want to think Jacob was there waiting for her as well, side by side with Alice and in an intense game of _who can go up in flames first if I glare hard enough_.

She didn't come back to Forks for this. She was here for her father, who stubbornly lay in a hospital bed because, _what,_ he didn't want her to leave home?

 _"I just don't think I'm ready to leave yet."_

Yeah, okay.

After the nurse had left, it had been uncomfortably quiet and Bella had all but cursed herself for thinking her father was going to take it easy on her. Of course she should have known better. She left him, _twice_ already, with pent up emotions just waiting to spill over. Charlie said he forgave her the first time, but they never spoke about the second time. In fact, if it had not been for Jacob's phone call, who's to say she wouldn't have even tried to reach out to her father until the worst was recognized... His death.

Bella's muscles instantly locked, her jaw tightening and a frown marring her face as she glared across the lake, thinking that even a small amount of effort on her part could naturally combust the calm waters.

"I do believe I told you not to seek me out for _two_ days," She suddenly spoke, eyes still hard on the lake. "What the hell do you think you're-"

It had only been a single human heartbeat of time when she turned her head in Alice's general direction before her eyes went wide and she was on her feet, storming over to her with a look of pure disbelief.

"I-It's not human, I swear!" Alice tried to explain but was forcibly cut off when Bella grabbed her wrist in an iron hold and began dragging her off to the shore bank, pulling at the bottom of her shirt as she went.

She could not believe her eyes. How in the hell had the whole Cullen Clan survived long enough without being recognized as animals? It was so beyond her that as she set to work, making sure Alice was perfectly seated on the makeshift sand and Bella had ripped the fabric of her shirt to use as a washcloth, she was unable to even look her in the eye, let alone lecture her behavior.

They were close enough to the water where Bella didn't have to go far to rinse off the blood now building up on the cloth. Words had failed her, so instead, she angrily rubbed at Alice's skin, washing off all she could (realizing she'd have to let the woman borrow some of her own clothes back at home later on) and not giving a damn as Alice made several faces to her rigorous actions.

It was a long moment before Alice turned away, eyes trained elsewhere as Bella continued to work.

"How can you stand it?" She asked.

Bella paused for a solitary second before resuming. "I cant." She responded, her voice detached and her eyes glazed over as if she were deep in thought. "But I've learned to control the urges, instead of running away from it."

Alice appeared perplexed and probably for good reason. The Cullen family may not have been new to blood, per se, but they still struggled to cope when surrounded by it. Bella, on the other hand, had been forced to deal with it on a daily basis.

 _'Maybe you weren't trying to torture me for your own sadistic pleasure...'_ She pondered quietly to herself, recalling all of her training under old man Harrison.

"There, you should be good until we get back to my house and get you a change of clothes."

"Maybe I shouldn't have come back..."

Bella paused, her hands freezing mid-rinse. A number of things went through her mind and on the tip of her tongue, numbers threatened to spill over but she forced her shoulders to relax and her hands to continuing moving. Alice didn't need to see that part of her. Not her. Not now.

"Then why did you?" She countered nonchalantly, trying to keep herself busy and as aloof as possible.

Alice frowned, staring at the side of her face questioningly. Bella quickly backtracked.

"You said your brother is in danger, right?" She refused to say his name. "Why come to me? What did you think I could possibly do for him?"

From her peripheral, Bella saw Alice lower her head.

"I, I don't know. But then I heard about Charlie and-" She trailed off then, unsure how else to continue and Bella didn't oblige her.

What could she have said? _Thanks for visiting my father, I know it meant a lot to him._ Honestly, she wanted to laugh.

Alice continued, pausing only briefly, "None of us really noticed anything different with him, ya know? Even Edward, he-" Bella tried not to outwardly flinch. "He just stopped listening to me... I mean, he and I use to have a lot of inside conversations, right? But when I always gave him a look, ya know, to _read_ me when I wanted to share a joke about something or another, he just," She paused, closing her eyes tightly, her brow furrowed. "He just _couldn't."_

Bella tried hard to sympathize, really, she did; but the whole idea that _this_ had such an impact on their relationship was nearly laughable. But then, it stopped being funny and left Bella with a sense of doom that she couldn't quite place. And that bothered her.

"...Why did you think I would care?" She suddenly asked after a moment of awkward silence.

Alice frowned further, cocking her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

No, Alice wasn't stupid. She knew full well what she meant. Unfortunately, it appeared that Bella was being forced to explain further and create an even greater rift if there had even been one to begin with.

"After all this time, after what you've all done, why would you think I gave a damn?" She paused before shaking her head, rephrasing, "Why _should_ I care?"

 _"You don't know how long I've waited for you," He murmured quietly, golden hues dancing. "I'd rather die than stay away from you."_

 _"You're the only one who has ever touched my heart. It will always be yours."_

 _"It's my job to protect you."_

 _"I honestly don't know how to live without you."_

"Why?" She repeated coldly, eyes hard.

Alice appeared taken aback, even shrinking under her intense gaze but Bella was resolute. She didn't care about her feelings anymore, because it was obvious they never cared about hers.

 _"Because he was your true love-"_

Her reply was small, almost nonexistent, but when she heard it, Bella lunged.

* * *

"Alright, so I don't know _all_ of the details, but my Intel is solid," Katherine nodded, mostly to herself. "Of _that,_ I can promise you."

Stefan's jaw clenched, almost as if he was trying to refrain from a snarky comment he felt bubbling on his tongue. Katherine Pierce's promises meant absolutely nothing to him and yet, as he turned his head minimally to gauge the reaction of the other two female's in the room, he could tell that Elena's, in particular, appeared thoughtful if not contemplative.

Frowning, he asked her, "You can't honestly believe her, Elena."

When she did not readily meet his inquiry, he damn near well shook the girl.

"She's obviously feeding us some bullshit story to try and worm her way out of whatever shitstorm she managed to be a part of."

"He's right, 'Lena," Bonnie agreed. "We know what it's like to be on the receiving end of her lies. Believing her now is only going to end badly for us; as it always does."

Even still, Elena did not waver in her gaze as she stared long and hard at her doppleganger. It was true, Katherine could still be lying out of her teeth to try and get protection from whatever hell was going to be raining down upon their friends; However-

"I can't believe that Katherine would show up at our door, tail between her legs and pride thrown to the wind if she were lying." She slowly spoke, making sure to keep eye contact with said woman to gauge her reaction.

Katherine, it appeared, seemed equally as surprised as Stefan and Bonnie were. The corner of Elena's mouth twitched as if to smirk. The elusive Katherine Pierce, speechless? That was gratifying, if nothing else.

Grabbing her arm, Stefan forced Elena's eyes on him, his own green orbs confused as wholly hell.

"That's _exactly_ what she would do; What she's _done_ plenty of times before! We can't trust her, Elena!" He argued, trying desperately to make her see reason.

"Well, that's one for the books," Katherine said, blinking slowly. "You've actually managed to surprise me." Her chocolate brown orbs flashed. "But tell me, not that I'm complaining, of course, but why trust me? You're surely don't have a reason to, considering my past, but-"

Elena quickly shook her head and yanked her arm from Stefan's grasp, turning to Katherine as she spoke, "I don't trust you, Katherine, make no mistake." Her voice was hard as she glared. " _But,_ what kind of person would I be if I turned you away when you obviously need our help."

"Ah, there's that sickening heroism I'm so fond of." Katherine smirked, eyes twinkling in mirth.

Elena scoffed. "You're already making me regret it."

Katherine's smirk brightened as she pushed herself off the couch, standing to her full height and walking over to the trio. Immediately, Stefan made to stand between her and the girls, Bonnie's hand poised and her lips moving to form spells, but Elena quickly stopped them.

"You need our help; Am I allowed to hope that, if it comes down to it, you'll be there for us, too?"

Pausing, Katherine appeared thoughtful before allowing a small smile to grace her lips as she extended her hand.

"I'm not you, Elena. Heroism doesn't look as good on me as it does you-"

Stefan's eyes flashed, Bonnie glared, and Elena waited, nearly holding her breath and praying internally that Katherine wouldn't screw herself up at the starting line.

"-however, I suppose that when the time comes, I won't leave you hanging."

* * *

Damon sighed, running a rough hand through his unkempt hair as he gassed up his Camaro. It was going to be a long drive to Washington, and he needed to fuel up and grab a snack before he hit the road. If there were no incidents between stops, he was sure he could make it in one go.

With his free hand, he fished out his phone from his leather jacket and frowned when he was met with a black screen.

"Couldn't be bothered with incoming calls, huh?" He snorted, holding the top button down to turn his phone back on.

When the screen finally flashed on and he removed the nozzle from the tank, he inwardly groaned as a number of missed calls came through all at once.

 _Stefan._

 _Stefan._

 _Stefan._

 _Stefan._

 _Elena._

 _Elena._

 _Several text messages._

Once again, Damon sighed and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

"I need more variety in my life." He declared before walking towards the store, noticing the pretty blonde who had yet to take her eyes off him since he drove in.

* * *

 **A\N #2:** I apologize for the shorter chapter, but I didn't feel like dragging this on too much. I know you guys have been so patient with me, so I wanted to get this posted as soon as I could and I found a good cut off, so here ya go. I have a bit of the next chapter written up, so hopefully it won't take as long but ya never know. Anyways, your feedback is the best, thanks so much. :)


	10. Chapter 10

**A\N:** I know I said this chapter was going to try and be up earlier, but I got distracted with a new fic idea and life stuff, so this is severely delayed. I'm sorry. :(

 **Chapter ten.**

* * *

In the middle of the night, walking through the dimly lit streets of Brooklyn, the red-haired beauty sauntered towards a couple she saw heading her way. They appeared young, probably in their teens, and completely unbothered by her approaching presence.

And why would they be? They were entirely entranced by their own company, unaware of the danger lurking just feet away from them. They were huddled close, talking quietly between each other about thing or another. She felt herself grow sick, practically nauseated at the sight of them.

 _Gag me._ She thought with a deep scowl.

Maybe she should have bypassed them without another thought, but just the sight of them had thrown her off. How could they be so happy, while she felt so miserable? How could they be so in love, so completely unaware of the world around them, while she spent most of her nights at a different bar, nursing whatever strong drink her bartender bestowed in front of her?

Truthfully, she wished she had been able to go back to her anger; at least then she wouldn't be feeling so low right now. At least then she'd have something to keep her going, to see her through until the next day.

Outwardly, she frowned. The couple had now gotten close enough where she could practically taste their heady scent, just close enough to feel their heat within reach. Her jaw began to ache, her eyes a harsh black of pure hunger. They've been like that for awhile now, still mourning the loss of her beloved and her thirst never quite being quenched long enough to return to the usual golden hues (or even crimson red) of her kind.

Slowly, predator to prey, she stalked closer. She could practically taste their pulsing flesh against her sharp fangs and she nearly relished in the oncoming kill she was about to partake in when she was abruptly pulled straight out of her hunt and dragged roughly into the alleyway she had nearly passed in her pre-lunge.

Shoved none-too-gently against the brick wall, Victoria sprang forward, snarling viciously before her eyes even adjusted to the unlucky fellow who dare pull her from her meal.

The dark-skinned male immediately shoved her back against the wall, seemingly unimpressed with her attitude and narrowing his eyes sharply.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Victoria?" Laurent, her fellow travel companion and ever growing thorn in her side, snapped.

Damn. And here she thought she had made her grand escape from her babysitter back in Montreal.

"Well, hello to you, too, darling." Victoria rolled her eyes, allowing her shoulders to sag slightly though she was still on edge. "I didn't think I'd see you so soon and certainly not here, of all places."

She was sure, at the time at least, she had a few more months before he'd caught wind of her trail and followed her to New York. It appeared, sadly, she was wrong. His tracking skills seemed to have improved greatly since the last time they traveled together.

Laurent did not look amused in the slightest. "You certainly didn't make it hard for me, Victoria." He countered, glare hardening. "You're getting messy."

"I do believe I don't know what you're referring to." She shrugged before shoving herself away from the wall, knocking Laurent's hand away from her as she went.

He took a single step backwards, enough to give her some space but to restrain her if necessary, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Do you even realize the trail of bodies you've left behind? Victoria, if _I_ caught wind of you so easily, how quick do you think _they'll_ be when they catch word of your transgressions?"

Laurent was nearly at the point of shaking the woman. After having spent so much time with Victoria and James, he'd expected a lot more than careless actions and forgone misgivings. Okay, maybe he expected James to react like this, but certainly not Victoria. She was a lot cleaner, neat even. But it was as if she'd lost all sense of reason, cared not for her own life, and merely came and gone like the wind, a trail of bodies left in her wake. While Laurent cared little for her lover, he did hold a soft spot for the red-haired beauty and to see her fall so far off the wagon, well, he would feel partially to blame if anything were to happen to her. Old friends and all of that.

Victoria hadn't really been paying attention to her companion, mostly distracted by the growing hunger that roared back to life and then the disappointment of being unable to locate that cozy couple from earlier. They were long gone now.

Frustrated by her lack of attention, Laurent grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her eyes back on him. Onyx eyes clashed horribly with amber, momentarily halting Victoria in her place as she realized just how far she and Laurent had drifted apart. It was obvious he had his inner beast controlled and locked away, his eyes were nearly as revolting as that of another family she cared not to recall. She had fallen completely from grace, her eyes no longer that usual scarlet color they both use to share once upon a time.

Yes, that seemed like forever ago already. Back when her beloved was still around.

Abruptly, Laurent begun to shaking her, trying and clearly failing in making her see reason. "You need to stop this at once! If they find out-"

"They already have." She interjected, her face hard as she struggled not to tear into his throat for putting his hands on her person.

For a moment, Laurent stilled. The look on his face showed a number of emotions; all ranging from disbelief, shock, concern, and then anger.

" _What did you do?!_ "

She smirked. "I told them the truth, of course."

" _What-_ "

"You needn't worry, darling, you're perfectly safe." She chided flatly, shrugging Laurent's hands off of her. "They were merely curious about our sweet, little pet the Cullen's kept around."

Not entirely a lie. Half-truths were still truths.

"They know who's behind the animal attacks," Her eyes flashed dangerously. "Isabella Swan will have a lot to atone for, it seems, when they get their hands on her."

Around the corner, completely hidden from view, the lone figure quietly crept away.

* * *

Alice had been trailing behind Bella quietly as they made their way up her steps and in the house. After what had happened down at the pier, Alice was more than content with keeping silent so as to not set Bella off any further. Truthfully, she couldn't believe she was still alive. After her offhanded comment about her brother being Bella's true love, she had jumped on her, pinning her down and holding her by her throat so tight, she could feel the cracks shoot up her neck to her face. It was frightening, to say the least, staring death in the eye like that.

And she hadn't felt any better knowing that it was Bella who could have taken her life.

"How could you stop?" Alice suddenly asked, though making sure to avoid eye contact just in case she had stepped out of line.

Bella had grabbed the bottle of whiskey from inside the lower cabinet in the kitchen before reappearing back with two glasses and a dubious look on her face though she tried to hide it.

"I didn't want to," She finally said, pouring them both a glass. It appeared as if she didn't want to explain further, but then she sighed and continued anyway, "I felt this rage suddenly consume me and all I wanted to do was snap your neck."

"That's...comforting."

At this, Bella snorted. "I don't think that's the word I'd use."

But Alice shook her head and offered her a smile instead. "No, it is. It means you haven't completely shut me out just yet."

Bella stilled, not unsure if she dare breech this conversation but as they had all the time in the world and Alice had no where to be, there wasn't any escape she could find. She sighed once more, staring down at her glass she cradled with both hands.

"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable..."

Alice was slowly sipping from her glass, while Bella only shook her head and downed the entire thing before going for another one.

"I almost killed you, Alice, so I guess it's only fair." She tried for a smile but it barely touched her face, her name falling awkwardly off her tongue even still. "I've been holed up working on my control the most, but sometimes I forget that my emotions are still there, that I can't turn them off and then I let them get the best of me." She paused. "I'm ashamed, actually, but Robert says that I-"

"Robert?"

Immediately, Bella's frown returned. "...It's a long story." She said, averting her gaze.

It looked as if Alice wanted to press further but knowing her place now, she quickly nodded and flashed a smile.

"Of course. You don't trust me."

And though she hadn't meant it as a snide comment, Bella felt obligated to assure her otherwise.

"It's not that as it really is a long story. Let's just say, Robert helped me when no one else knew how."

Alice cocked her head to the side curiously but Bella remained firm.

"Like I said, it's a long story and you've got more important things to worry about, right?" Placing her glass on the coffee table, Bella reached over and snatched her notebook and a pen before leaning back into the couch and giving Alice her full attention. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything that's been happening to Edward."

And while his name left a bitter taste in her month, even when she felt like she had to escape to cleanse her body of the repressed memories starting to flood back in, she remained neutral and as collected as possible. The faster they figured out the issue, the faster she could get Charlie out of the hospital, and the faster she'd be back home and away from all of this anguish.

* * *

"You know what I don't get?" Damon asked, licking his lips and snagging any excess blood he may have missed.

The blonde woman in his passenger seat moaned, retracting her hand and stretching out to get comfortable. Though Damon's eyes were on the road, he gave her a casual side glance, smirking to himself when he noticed her tank top ride up a little.

"Mm?" She purred, her eyes half lidded as she regarded him.

The windows were partially down and so the wind was sweeping through her hair enticingly, nearly causing Damon to pull over and ravish her once more. The woman, Misty, if he remembered correctly, had been traveling with him since he picked her up at the gas station. He still had a long drive ahead of him and he felt like he would have spiraled downward if he didn't have a traveling companion with him. Luckily, she was more than happy to oblige his request, calling up her boss and giving him a quick 'I quit' before skipping out of the mini mart, hand-in-hand with him before letting him bite into said hand and hightailing it out of there.

"This Harrison guy," He continued, squinting slightly at the road. "I'm usually quite good at reading people's intentions but," And he paused, eyes narrowed.

"But?" Misty encouraged after a brief moment.

And slowly, he shook his head. "I don't know. He really doesn't give off any particular vibe. Shocking, as he did stow me away in his basement for shits and giggles."

" _You_ were kidnapped?!"

Damon chuckled. "Not my finest moment."

Misty nodded, eyes still large and staring at him, appearing interested though he knew that was the compulsion coming into play. "So, why are you helping him? I mean, you clearly don't trust this guy or whatever, so why?"

In the short time they'd been in his car, Damon had made a bit of small talk to clear the air about where they were headed. He compelled the girl to engage him in conversation when _she_ felt like it, giving him her blood when _he_ felt like, and remaining completely neutral to anything he may say or do from there on out.

"Call it curiosity. I'm interested to know more about what makes this Isabella Swan chick so special." He smirked, recalling an earlier memory from when he first bumped into her.

At that time, he was filled with a mixture of genuine interest and then, anxiety. Which was rare in itself as one would never anticipate Damon Salvatore being anxious of anything. The girl was a vampire, that much was clear. But before he had met old man Harrison, he never understood just how undead she really was. She was nothing like the vampire's in Mystic Falls and more on, nothing like the _female_ vampire's he had grown so use to over a century and a half.

Isabella Swan was different. How different was another matter altogether. One that he believed he was anxious to understand.

"Hmm, you're making me jealous," Misty pouted, leaning over to press herself against his side. "You're talking as if I don't have a chance~"

Damon glanced down, his smirk widening as he leaned down to place a sweet kiss against her pale lips. It seemed he had begun to take too much blood from her since he brought her along and knew he'd eventually have to give her his blood, too, if he wanted to keep her around for a little while longer.

"That's because you don't." He replied sweetly. "Afterall, you'll be dead soon anyway."

And though she was forced to take that comment in stride, he could clearly see the inner turmoil behind her big, dull eyes.

* * *

He'd been snuffing the place out for a few months now. Something had set her off, something had brought her out of the intense depression she'd found herself in since her beloved's death in which he had found himself playing ever the gentleman on her behalf.

But this was just ridiculous. He'd been constantly on guard, roaming the streets of Forks day in and day out and it was slowly driving him up a wall. Truthfully, if he hadn't been so heavily involved with the woman herself, he wouldn't have even taken the job to begin with. What did he have to gain from all of this? Oh, right. _Her._

" _For fuck sake!_ " He cursed under his breath, red gleaming eyes hard on nothing in particular as he glared.

He had hit a fucking wall. A fucking _wall_ and he was going nowhere _fast_. Until, he wasn't. And just before he was about to give up, to call her and tell her he was going to give up, to call it quits and meet up with her instead; something amazing happened.

Intel.

And fuck, if he wasn't going to get laid for it when he made it back to New York. Riley Biers smirked as he hit redial on his phone.


End file.
